NZ house purchase - what to watch out for?

[TennisPlaya]

Hi,
I'm doing my research prior to a potential move to NZ (Auckland or Wellington tbc) next year.
Any NZ locals out here, who can advise on the main things to watch out for while buying? For instance, I read somewhere that houses in NZ can often be damp and cold? Don't houses there have insulation and heating?
Also, looking at TradeMe, ads seem to mention a RV, but no indication of an asking price. Are there any recent sales values public records that would give an indication of a reasonable offer price?

Thanks

Hello! Local in Auckland here! Trademe is a great place to start with your research: will give you a good feel for the style of houses that are available. In short, most older houses will not have much in the way of heating or insulation: central heating is relatively rare here still! If you have decent insulation, that's not too much of an issue in Auckland although for a couple of months it can get pretty cold. You also need to be careful of buying what's called a "leaky" building here: in the 1990s/early 2000s there was a huge controversy of non-waterproof building being built which are still causing issues now. It normally should be disclosed but be aware of any non-brick/wood house from that era. A google search will fill you in more on the leaky homes saga - and why you will want to avoid them! In terms of price, in Auckland at least most houses are put up for auction, which is why you won't see a fixed asking price. If they don't sell at auction, then normally they will either be by negotiation at an unspecified price, or will have a price put on them. "Cv" or council valuation, can be an indicator as to price but often isn't: it's not a scientific method and they are only reassessed every three years. The best bet is to ask the real estate agent about expectations of price... good luck! The property market has been horrific here for buyers but is finally slowing down/stalling so things aren't quite so manic as previously, when it wasn't unusual to have a house go to auction and sell a couple of days after it was first listed....

Thanks! I have started my property porn with TradeMe. Its just that I'm used to Rightmove in the UK, which always includes a floor plan and all sold prices in the neighborhood.
I want to make sure we are making the move with eyes wide open. We'll also have to consider school zones and jobs and residence visas, which could push our plans out a bit

Wellington here. RVs currently have no relation to market price, everything is selling for well over! However house buying is very quick, you can generally expect to go unconditional (exchange) in 10-15 working days.

Most houses don’t have very good insulation or heating, people have fires or heat pumps, radiators are rare. You have to be very careful in Wellington about damp as the hills mean if you buy a house on the wrong side of the street, you could have no sun in the winter. Most Brits I know buy brand new on aotea or Whitby as they don’t mind the commute.

Houses.co.nz will give you a good indication of market value and what things are selling for around a property.

Sorry homes.co.nz

Thanks Starry

Trademe property insights will give you an idea of recent sales prices and valuations, and qv.co.nz will give you the most recent sales, as well as size of house, land, building consent etc.

It's a very different system than UK. You find a solicitor and then when you want to offer on a house you fill in a sales and purchase agreement with your offer on it and the solicitor sends it to real estate agent/their solicitor. If they accept the offer you are legally obliged to buy house. If they don't accept offer they write counter offer then send back. If you agree you initial it, if not send counter offer back etc. When we bought in March it went to multiple bidders so we had to put in our best offer at beginning though.

You put conditions on your offer, such as subject to survey or finance. We gave ourselves 5 working days for this in our offer before we went conditional. Whole process from offer to getting keys only took 3 weeks!

Be careful with damp and cold houses, many are, a lot of kiwis don't seem to see the point of insulation... Ours is an old villa but has been fully insulated and is warmer than the leaky, uninsulated 1990s house we rented before this! Make sure you get a full survey done.

One thing I always look for is to be on the right side of the street for sun. You want a north facing garden ideally so the afternoon sun hits you.

Also if you have kids, think about school zones. Most schools have catchment areas (unless you go private). Trade me will list the zoned schools, and you can check the schools out on the ERO website. (Education review office I think)

Definitely get a full survey and builders report done. They’ll check for leaks and damp, and any issues with consent etc.

It’s a much better system than the UK, no horrible chains.

Thanks all, very useful tips for me to help focus my research