[UktoKiwi]

Does anyone know of any newish developments or property in the Auckland area which are especially good value or have been drastically reduced?

I have heard that prices of some new apartment blocks may have been dramatically cut due to an over supply situation?

We really do not like renting so are interested in buying something inexpensive for our family to move into when we come to NZ for a year or 2 whilst we decide exactly where we want to live etc..

Happy New Year to everyone.

[David with a dream]

Hi UK

Yeah I heard from a taxi driver whilst I was in Auckland that prices of these apt. blocks may well have to drop due to supply out stripping demand.
Good luck with the move. David

[Wannaway]

There has been a tremendous rise in apartment blocks in Auckland city over the last five years, with demand being fuelled historically by international students, particularly Asian students. However, as the international student population is dropping just as these blocks are being finished there is an increasing supply versus a dwindling demand. A lot of these developments have attracted a lot of criticism as being nothing more than shoddily constructed shoe boxes thrown up in a hurry to exploit an unsuspecting foreign market. If you have kids avoid, avoid, avoid. Generally the inner city is not a good place to be unless you are young (or young at heart), have no dependents and are happy to be kept up til 3am Fridays and Saturdays. My firm rented us an appartment on Queen Street when we arrived and the noise at weekends was unbearable, fortunately a work colleague of mine offered to let us have the run of their house in a suburb for the weekends he was away (how kind is that when you have just met the poerson!?). A couple of my work colleagues also rent in the city and have said the same thing - the noise can be pretty bad, especially at weekends.

Otherwise there is no overt "price slashing" etc going on, rather Estate Agents are frantically continually talking the market up in a desperate attempt to maintain their outrageous commissions/new BMW/Audi acquisitions. That's not to say that there won't be "bargains" out there, but you will have to work hard to find them.

[UktoKiwi]

Thanks for that interesting and thought provoking information.
Maybe the centre of the city not too good for the family.
I just thought that if we were to be based somewhere for a time whilst looking around the suburbs of Auckland including from Albany to Pukekohe and also east to West it might be best to be based central.
We would love to find the right property in the right location immediately, but despite having 'Where to Live in Auckland' etc, it is probably too difficult to make the right decision without living in Auckland for some time.
We might also consider building a new house.
If we were to rent temporarily for a few months or even a year or so, and taking into account that our children will be about 3 and 1, so not needing proper school yet what area might be a good one to rent in?
It would be nice to be really convenient for food shopping and general amenities.

[Wannaway]

We have rented since we arrived in Nov 2004 for the same reasons as you. We are in Pt Chev, which is about 5/6 kms from the central business district. Its OK, but a bit pricey as it is next door to the suburb and is seen as "up and coming" for young professionals and families given its relative closeness to the city. But truth is it is still a bit shabby and the basic shops are poor. Howvere we are close to the school, which is excellent, and two minutes walk from the park and beach.

Where to rent depends on how much you want to pay, what your family profile is, where you will be working and other more personal "would like" factors (eg if you would like good beaches then there are certain suburbs that would be preferable over, say, you want a particular type of school, or want to be close to certain sports facilities etc).

Generally anywhere in Auckland city should be OK, but prices can vary dramatically within short distances (eg Remuera v Mt Roskill). Anywhere seaward side of the motorway on the Nort Shore is nice although there is huge differences in the quality of the housing, you have to be quite careful about South Aucklandand West Auckland (ie Waitakere City) is hugely variable in terms of quality etc and can be a real pain to get to and from, especially if working in the city.

From what I have seen, the really nice areas in Auckland City (the central bit)include as follows;

Remuera/Orakei/Mission Bay/Kohi/St Heliers/ Glendowie/Parnell/Ponsonby/Epsom/Mt Eden

The OK areas include;

Balmoral/Sandringham/Pt Chev/Mt Albert/Three Kings/Onehunga/One Tree Hill/Newmarket/St Johns/Meadowbank

The not so appealing are;

Pt England/Glen Innes/Newton/Grafton/Mt Roskill/Greenlane

This is of course a matter of personal opinion as much as anything and is not comprehensive. Because I work in the city, but we want more of a "beachy" lifestyle, we are concentrating our efforts on the Devonport to Mairangi Bay part of the North Shore and Howick/Half Moon Bay in the Eastern suburbs.