Yes, it is Autumn, temperatures are down, days are shorter, the landscape is full of changing colours and there is a certain buzz around the onset of winter and the opening of the ski slopes. For me it is the opening of the Ice Rink and the grand-kids scurrying to dig out skates and gear!!!

Interesting development yesterday with Government backing down from the Capital Gains Tax proposal. The decision does not surprise, Labour had twice in recent history entered elections on a promise of a CGT, result was negative, this time after spending a significant amount on reviewing it was apparent that acceptance was dependant on all parties to the coalition agreeing which was an unlikely outcome.  At least a very strong signal has been given that GCT will not be considered by this Government going forward. Hopefully this can provide some certainty by removing the cloud that has been over the head of many investments over the past 18 months.

The property market continues to be “subdued”, figures out of Auckland indicate significant reductions but you really need to drill down to establish specific geographic trends for suburbs as there is a very large variance suburb to suburb which is to expected in such a significantly large market. In the Southern Lakes area there has been a slow down in sales and perhaps some easing in prices but it still seems to be a supply and demand response. Whilst banks are still keen to lend, they are being for want of another word “choosy”. For those applications that fit the “norm” all banks are very aggressive with some really sharp pricing. For those applications slightly outside the norm it is at times a take it or leave response. When talking of interest rate, we see most majors have a special rate of 3.985% p.a. fixed 3 years. Again, this is showing some stability in the market and is perhaps an indication that rates will remain down for some time to come.

As always if we can help at all don’t hesitate to contact us.

Cheers

Charlie & Michelle