In a recent interview with ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan, City Sales’ Real Estate broker, Scott Dunn says they are very positive about ASB and ANZ loosening up on lending restrictions for apartments, and while there are still some apartments that miss out, this is definitely a good step forward. Dunn says they have been campaigning for the banks to bring down their lending restrictions for quite some time now, and it looks as though their efforts are now showing some good results.
ANZ and ASB are loosening up on lending restrictions for apartments 45 square metres and smaller. Until now, those apartments needed a 50 percent deposit. ANZ are now allowing 20 percent deposits for anything 38 square metres and larger, and ASB have changed it to 40 square metres and larger.
Dunn also says, “I think that in an ideal world, I would like to see this come down to around the 30 square metre range. There are some good quality freehold stock which is really affordable at that kind of range that I would like to see people who are perhaps priced out of the Auckland property market be able to get into”, adding that quality should not be contingent upon size. For example, Scott explains, “there is a character apartment building on Emily Place called Silo, with a lot of really beautiful but smaller apartments which have never had any issues in about a hundred years”.
When asked by du Plessis-Allan whether young people would be keen to get into these smaller apartments, Scott said, “We are talking about an entry level price point of $300-$350 thousand for an apartment, as opposed to a patch of land going at the moment for over $900 thousand.” As he correctly points out, young people should avoid looking for the house and land package straight off. They need to work their way up from a more realistic property, such as a smaller apartment, where the repayments will be more affordable.
So, whether you’re looking for a first home, adding to your investment portfolio, or cashing out of the , City Sales can help you get where you want to be, and with this in mind, please take a moment to find out more about property managers Auckland and selling apartments Auckland by going to http://www.citysales.co.nz .
