In today's Herald - What offers higher returns for less work, but has trouble winning Kiwi investors over? You guessed it ...

Worth a read. A fairly even handed article by Mark Lister, and pretty much once over lightly, though in the end he has a bob each way. One thing not covered is that many people are more familiar with property than with annual accounts and the sharemarket. There is a natural inclination to stick with what you know. And again, having some else pay for part of your asset (tenants) is usually rather more attractive than paying it yourself.


"Some property people will never touch shares. Likewise, some share investors see property as too much hard work for relatively modest rewards. The NZX50 gross dividend yield of 6.5 per cent from shares certainly stacks up well against rental yields. Shares and property have many fundamental value drivers in common, but they are also very different. I'm not sure there is a clear winner. I also suspect the more astute investors don't waste their time having this debate, but rather acknowledge the pros and cons of each, and simply own both.