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First-home buyers losing out BY STU OLDHAM
STU.O@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Ashburton landlords are buying more houses than are being bought by first-home buyers as people already in the still-buoyant market make the most of their investments. Investors bought nearly three times more than first-home buyers in the three months to October, figures prepared for the Guardian by property analyst CoreLogic reveal. The district’s first-home buyers bought 14.71 per cent of all homes sold over the period –
Who’s buying in Ashburton District? ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Investors Movers First-home buyers New to market cash buyers Re-entering the market
nearly six percentage points less than they bought in the same period last year. The proportion of first home purchases was low compared to
38.73 per cent 26.96 per cent 14.71 per cent 10.29 per cent 5.39 per cent Source: CoreLogic the national figure of 17.24 per cent but both values reflected the “hit” they took over the past year, analyst Nick Goodall said. The “hit” was banks cutting
back on low deposit mortgages after being told to limit loan-tovalue ratios, in a move designed to take the heat out of the national property market.
The change knocked back first home buying rates in Auckland and Christchurch, and have had an effect on property values at the first-home end of the market. However, the changes also knocked some of the wind out of provincial markets with proscriptive deposits discouraging first home buyers from taking the plunge.
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