Growth Of Our Region At Risk From Proposed Funding Cuts
I can definitely feel the mornings crisping up as we head further into Autumn. The big real estate news this past week was the release of the March REINZ statistics with Hawke’s Bay hitting what the NZ Herald so well termed a “three-peat” record high, the third in a row for the Bay. The regional median house price hit $445,000, showing an increase of 11.7 per cent on March 2017 and keeping in line with the median house prices of January and February.
We continue to see many buyers purchasing in Hawke’s Bay from outside the region. We have had a huge increase in median price over the previous two-and-a-half years but we continue to represent very good value in comparison to other regions in New Zealand. With Tasman’s median price sitting at $570,000 and Bay of Plenty at $580,000 we are still very affordable when compared to the other lifestyle regions, and well below the main cities – Auckland median sat at $880,000 in March. It will be interesting to see whether the April statistics continue this trend, with the Easter break and school holidays often a factor in lower sales volumes. I am sure we will see plenty more buyers coming into the region in the coming months with the Air New Zealand Hawke’s Bay International Marathon and Winter F.A.W.C! not far off, both initiatives that have been promoted wonderfully to an out-of-town audience by Hawke’s Bay Tourism. It is these events that attract more people to our region and help with their decisions to move here permanently.
The recently proposed funding cuts of $1.8 million over three years to Hawke’s Bay Tourism by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council just does not sit right with helping the continued growth of our region. Submissions have just closed to appeal the funding cut, to which I know many business owners – including myself, as well as the Napier City and Hastings District Councils – are strongly opposed. I hope that the regional council will take on board the immense feedback from the public and continue to fund the fantastic work that HB Tourism does in promoting our region, both nationally and internationally.
The most recent move by the Government to disincentivise investors in the market is a proposal to “ring-fence” any losses incurred by investors when negatively gearing investment property. The position will be that investors will NOT be able to deduct losses from other income tax. This again does not sit right with a housing market desperate for more rental properties and the yield to investors becoming smaller and smaller as house prices increase.
It is hard to believe the fourth month of the year is nearly complete, as we move into May. May marks the 48th year Tremains has been operating in Hawke’s Bay, with our brand sitting positively as part of our region’s history.
We have moved in many directions over the years and taken on different niche brands in order to showcase our clients’ properties to a world-wide audience. However, we have always managed to remain local, and giving back to the community in which we live and work is a huge part of Tremains and how we do business. It is great to see our agents committed to those same values in all areas of the community – whether it be in schools, clubs or charitable trusts, giving back through our Tremains TeamUp initiative, the Tremains Community Trust and wider company sponsorships.
And also on a community note, Tremains is proud to support the Tremains Senior Sports Team Of The Year for the 10th year running at the Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards on May 26th. Looking forward to recognising the fantastic sporting talent that we have right here in the Bay.
Have a great week.
