In the middle of last year, an amazing $US66.1 trillion in household wealth was reported for the period ending 2012. That was an increase of $1.2 trillion over the previous quarter and 98 per cent of the pre-recession peak.  This is good news when it comes to discussing the country’s recovery, as these increases help support its overall economy. Home prices, in response, have extended their gains, and brought current net worth in 2013 (or household wealth) to a level that tops the $67.4 trillion pre-recession peak.  “Household wealth, or net worth, reflects the value of assets like homes, stocks and bank accounts, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards.” Some economists suggest this…

House prices have seen a dramatic upwards shift over the last 2 - 3 years. However recent statistics suggests this might be about to change, which isn’t good for potential property investors.  Last year, the Herald's House Price Index documented an average 10.2% increase in home values over 2012, double the 5.1% in 2011. Early reports for 2013 showed values were starting to slide back a bit, with many of Auckland's central city suburbs beginning to flatten. As an example, the greatest slow down is currently being evidenced in Westmere. Looking at value growth, the area saw a 15.8 per cent increase in 2012 year; but over the first quarter of 2013, there was only been a marginal increase of…

Last year the NZ Herald reported that house prices are starting to fall. A week or so later they appeared to change their mind somewhat, speculating that 2013 might not see any signs of easing.  That said, the one thing all parties did agree upon, was on the speculation surrounding long-term price sustainability. Will there be enough persisting momentum to take high property values through to the end of the year or will they fall as a result of the inevitable raising of mortgage interest rates? And, of course, much of this same speculation has continued into 2014 with mixed confidence over what lays ahead in the NZ housing market. Case in point, a slight pricing adjustment has already been…