Home Loans - February 22nd Squirrel: Property Investors Beware the Credit Crunch Property investors beware the credit crunch! As we start to feel the bite of recent legislative and bank policy changes, New Zealand has been left staring down the barrel of a major credit crunch. In …
First Home Buyers - February 18th Squirrel: LVR Restriction Tips for First Home Buyers It’s pretty tough going out there in the home loan market right now. Higher interest rates and new, hyper-prescriptive responsible lending laws have seen affordability and borrowing power take some big hits in recent months. That’s biting hard across the board …
Home Loans - February 17th How to Subdivide in NZ: What you Need to Know Across the country, especially in our main centres, land is at a premium. So if you're fortunate enough to own a home on a large section, one way of capitalising on its value is to …
First Home Buyers - February 16th Squirrel: 5 Big Hidden Homebuying Costs for FHBs Buying a home is (probably) going to be the biggest investment you’ll ever make. As a first home buyer, when you’re already fronting up such a hefty chunk of change, you’ll want to make sure …
Home Loans - February 14th Rising Building Costs of a House in NZ: Up 10%+ New Zealand is in the middle of a building boom. Last year, a record 48,899 new homes were consented, up 24% on 2020's numbers. As a result, the demand for building materials and skilled construction …
Banking & Insurance - December 23rd Canstar’s Top Stories of 2021 Tempus really does fugit. Despite the year being dragged down by the surprisingly tenacious virus, the past 12 months have been a blur of awards, ratings and great stories here at Canstar. We've introduced some cool …
Home Loans - December 16th Cashed Up? Canstar Reveals How to Spend Wisely Lockdown was brutal but, on the upside, it gave us a chance to save some cash. With the ability to spend on ‘want to have’ rather than ‘need to have’ items slashed, many Kiwis will …
First Home Buyers - November 19th Squirrel: Mortgage Rate Forecast for 2022 In last year’s mortgage rate forecast, we were of the view that rates would drop below 2% and stay low, which they did for most of 2021. We also felt that house prices would begin to …
First Home Buyers - November 15th Squirrel: Is it Better to Fix or Float your Mortgage? This is particularly relevant right now, while everyone is talking up inflation and higher interest rates. One thing is for sure, whether you fix or float your mortgage, you cannot avoid paying higher interest rates. …
First Home Buyers - November 8th Mortgage Rates to hit 5%: How Much Will Your Mortgage Cost? Mortgage rates are already on the up. Back in mid-July, the average mortgage rates for 1- and 2-year fixed mortgages looked like this: July 2021, average rates: Term 1-Year 2-Year Average rate 2.55% 2.86% Now they look like this: November 2021, average rates: Term 1-Year 2-Year Average rate 3.44% 4.03% Source: www.canstar.co.nz. …
