REAL ESTATE UPDATE: KAREN SPIRES
Different strokes for different folks I was taking a cab to Northcote Point recently to have dinner at a friend’s house. I got chatting to the driver, a young Indian man living in Papakura, and when he learnt I was a real estate salesperson he asked me was now a good time to buy property and whether it was expensive. I asked him why he wanted to buy a house and he said he wanted a home for his family, to raise his two children in. I gave him the following analogy. Bayleys has a beautiful mansion on Waiheke Island with a price tag in the region of $20 million. To me, living in Herne Bay, that house in Waiheke is beyond my financial reach. As we were driving, I then looked across at Herne Bay to where I live and houses there are selling for about $2m. I said to the taxi driver ‘’people living in Northcote have houses worth $1m. To them, Herne Bay at $2m is unaffordable”. I then looked back to Hillsborough where people have houses worth $600,000. For them, living in Northcote with its $1m price tag is unaffordable. I then looked down to Manurewa, where someone in a $300,000 house looks at Hillsborough and says ‘’that’s unaffordable’’. While my vision doesn’t extend this far, I thought about someone in Moerewa in Northland or Bluff in Southland and I thought, for them looking at a $300,000 house in Manurewa, that residence is out of their reach. The point is this; a house is not affordable or unaffordable for everyone. It simply depends on the different price bracket and therefore the perspective of those wanting to buy it. The best time to buy is as soon as you can, and a property is only expensive if you can’t afford it. Consider why you want to buy a house and the ‘must have’ features on your list then work out which areas you can afford to buy in. Often the key to buying your dream home is simply to alter your expectations. (KAREN SPIRES) F PN Karen Spires is a Bayleys Real Estate ‘Top Achiever’ - placing her sales data among the top five percent of salespeople within the company.
PAINTING YOUR WORLD INSIDE AND OUT EXPERIENCED PROJECT MANAGER PETER SMITH, OWNER OF RUTHERFORD PAINTING and Decorating, says that whilst we are in the middle of winter, spring is just around the corner which means it’s that time of year to think about renovating and refreshing your biggest asset, your home. Exterior painting protects your home and can give your property a new lease on life, adding to its value. Interior painting allows you to change your décor quickly and whether you prefer traditional, minimalist or retro, Rutherford Painting and Decorating have a colour just for you. Rutherford Painting and Decorating are a little different from other painters. Not only do they have skilled and conscientious, experienced, painters they are happy to be booked for both small jobs and challenging larger jobs. For the big jobs they employ painter managers who work on site to ensure the project is running to plan throughout all stages. Whether you are building new or renovating to spruce up an older property you will not be disappointed with Rutherford’s, their personal service ensures total respect and care PN of your property. F RUTHERFORD PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTD, T: 09 267 3774 M: 027 663 4533 peter@rutherfordpm.co.nz
102 PONSONBY NEWS+ August 2013
PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)