Apartments

[BRICKS]

Right which is the best Auckland suburb South of the Harbour Bridge to BUY a reasonable price Apartment min 2 bed, bathroom, car lock up..[8D]

[huds]

City Centre offers the widest range, but I prefer parnell, newmarket area.
Other than that, theres really no where else.

[Halebop]

There are apartment developments in other isolated areas around the city. Aside from numerous terrace developments there are bona fide high rise apartments in Remuera, Takapuna, Henderson, even Manukau. Also City fringe locations like K Road, Grafton, Eden Terrace, Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, Herne Bay.

As with Huds I like Parnell and Newmarket although I also like selected CBD locations - mostly character buildings clustering in a triangle around Albert Park, Shortland Street and Queen Street. I suspect this segment of the apartment market will hold up best because they can offer character, location and in some cases not to be built-out park view benefits all those dodgy offers along the Hobson and Symonds ridges fail to match. (in the last slump, perenial character apartment favourite "The Brooklyn" held up quite well despite some cut price offers elsewhere).

[ragwort]

Has anyone had anything to do with NZ Finance & Investments Ltd. They are selling apartments in Auckland, they organise the finance (100%), the property etc and use tax savings as an incentive. Any comments would be appreciated.

[Halebop]

New Zealand Finance & Investments is a subsidiary of Bluechip. I personally avoid investments that require or are sold on the basis of "tax efficiency". With real estate such an equation invariably involves you being "negatively geared", which is a nice way of saying leveraged and loss making.

If you want to invest in an apartment be patient and buy what makes sense at the front end of the equation, not the fancy stuff that involves accountants and salespeople. The high dollar is still impacting student numbers and there is plenty of supply coming online in the apartment market.

[Dough Boy]

I am sure that Bluechip and their brethern will all offer those enticing rental and maintenance guaranttees and that wonderfully low insurance policy that only they could source for your short-term 2-year benefit, then they will cast you adrift in the real world of market rents, vacancies, property managment fees, maintenance costs and escalating insurance costs. Then to finally cream you off the price of the apartment drops!

[Dazza]

what do people tink of apartments at albany?

[patsy]

quote:Originally posted by Dazza

what do people tink of apartments at albany?

Very big glut of apartments over there, some of which (especially those around the Old Albany Highway) are aimed at the Asian student population, i.e., 95% at Massey Albany campus. Due to a considerable drop of Asian studnets, those apts are not driving high rents at the moment. Peak time traffic is atrocious in Albany, and with no upgrade to the Auckland motorway within our lifetime, it is likely to get worse, regardless whether you work in the City or in North Shore. This would definetely impact on demand for such properties.

Personnally, if I wanted to buy something in Albany, I would go with land only, possibly more towards Dairy Flat, and subdivide.

[Tim]

any advice for apartment purcahses in CBD. Daughter at university. For resale what must I look for

[Halebop]

quote:Originally posted by Tim

any advice for apartment purcahses in CBD. Daughter at university. For resale what must I look for

If you want to do it for approaching 2007 academic year I'd pick that paying rent would be money better spent than paying interest or opportunity cost on an apartment. Unless you spot a bargain / cheap mortgagee sale I don't see much scope for capital gain and for all but the crappiest apartments yield is marginal versus interest / cost of capital. I'm not yet convinced the interest rate cycle has peaked either despite persistently hopeful commentary in the media.

In terms of long term value rather than a special situation:

Something overlooking a park or sea. Don't count on planning laws or surrounding low rise buildings to protect your views. Don't be fooled into thinking it's an "investment" so these things don't matter. The kind of tenant you would prefer would like these things too.

One carpark per bedroom. Even if not needed it helps resale.

Most banks apply lending restrictions on apartment below a certain size. Depending on the lender around 35 to 40m. This reduces the scope of the purchasing market to cash buyers or people with alternate security. So avoid small apartments despite tempting yields or be prepared for slow resale.

On size also - apartment living comes with different expectations in terms of size but experienced apartment dwellers know what to look for... Storage, Convenient waste disposal, High Stud Lifts or Service Lifts, Adequate Lift Ratios, Secure Postal Boxes and Lobby, On site management, On site parking, Proximity to amenities (Think "micro proximity" - people living in the CBD only drives cars when they leave the CBD - so the right mix of shops and amenities within a few hundred metres is a huge advantage).

As a former apartment dweller I preferred character, high stud and large windows for natural ligght. Was happy to sacrifice bedroom size for living area size although character places often provide bigger rooms all round because of their lower sunk cost. People moving form the burbs to the CBD often have inappropriately sized furniture for CBD dwelling so a large living area provides attraction in more ways than one ...later once I'd tried and liked apartment living I gained an appreciation that the living area gets lots more use than in a suburban home and needs to be a refuge. Something tiny struggles to deliver this.