Last year saw fewer new homes built since records began in 1966 despite a pick up in numbers from March, Statistics New Zealand said today.
"In 2009, consents were issued for 14,425 new homes, including apartments. This is the lowest number issued for a calendar year since the series began in 1966 and is due to very low numbers at the beginning of the year,'' said business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver.
The number of new houses authorised, excluding apartments, increased 45 percent since March, although the level was still considerably lower than it was before the middle of 2007.
Over the year, new dwellings, excluding apartments, fell 20 percent to 12,976 units, and apartments fell 37 percent to 1449.
The value of residential building consents was $5.1 billion, 18 percent lower than 2008. It was the lowest annual total since 2001.
The value of non-residential building consents in 2009 was $4.5b, a 0.2 percent increase compared with 2008.
The largest decreases were in factories and industrial buildings, down $187 million, farm buildings, down $186m, and storage buildings, down $172m.
The largest increases were in social, cultural, and religious buildings, up $273m, hostels and boarding houses, up $186m, and hospitals and nursing homes, up $105m.
For the month of December building consents were issued for 1260 new housing units and 93 apartments. The value of residential building consents for the month was $494m, an increase of 12 percent compared with December 2008, while the value of non-residential building consents was $404m, an increase of 5.6 percent.
Property listings defy summer upswing
1st February 2010
Source: TVNZ.co.nz
For the first time in four years the number of new properties listed for sale in January was less than that in December, real estate industry website realestate.co.nz says.
The figures were published on Monday in the website's monthly report of market activity.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm said just 10,272 new listings came onto the market in January, down from 10,349 in December.
It was the first time in four years that the January figure had been lower than December, with the New Year traditionally showing a strong lift in listings to take advantage of increased summer activity.
Also, the national asking price in January fell to $405,040, a 1.8% drop from December's figure of $412,319, and a further slide of 3.5% from November's $419,586, Helm said.
The January figure remained 5.6% below the market peak of October 2007 when the asking price reached $429,033.
Even with some vendors lowering their price expectations, buyers appeared to be biding their time in the expectation that prices would fall further in an increasingly crowded market.
"The level of sales remains static, showing no significant improvement. As a result, the inventory level of unsold houses has shot up significantly, as measured by the number of weeks of sales necessary to clear properties on the market," Helm said.
In December, the inventory level was 34.3 weeks, but that jumped to 40.1 weeks in January, the highest since April last year.
"All three key indices from the January statistics, ie asking price, new listings and inventory level, show an absence of expected seasonal swings. This lack of typical seasonality underscores the state of dormancy within New Zealand property, and further highlights the fact that it continues to be a buyers' market."
OCR holds, mid-year rate hike still likely
28th January 2010
Source: goodreturns.co.nz
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard kept the official cash rate at a record-low 2.5% as expected, and said the gradual recovery in the economy was in line with expectations and gave him breathing space to stick to his timeline of a mid-year rate hike.
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard kept the official cash rate at a record-low 2.5% as expected, and said the gradual recovery in the economy was in line with expectations and gave him breathing space to stick to his timeline of a mid-year rate hike.
"If the economy continues to recover in line with our December projections, we would expect to begin removing policy stimulus around the middle of 2010," Bollard said today.
The central bank is picking the economy to grow 3.1% this calendar year, according to its December forecast, after it came out of its worst recession since 1991 last year.
Echoing his serve to policy makers over government spending in December, Bollard said "fiscal consolidation would help reduce the work that monetary policy might otherwise need to do" as growth begins to sustain itself.
Annual inflation is in the "centre of the target band" of between 1% and 2% and "expected to track comfortably within the band over the medium term," Bollard said.
Last week, data showed consumers prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2009, in line with central bank forecasts. That gave Bollard room to hold off from hiking rates too early, according to debt collection agency Dun & Bradstreet, in its 2010 Economic Outlook. The annual Consumer Price Index is forecast to track below 2% this year, dropping to 0.9%, below the target band, in the September quarter, according to the RBNZ's December forecast.
ANZ National Bank economists said "it will not be a close call today for the RBNZ," in their morning report, released before the announcement. "No change to either the cash rate or the underlying tone of the statement released is likely."
The kiwi dollar traded at 70.44 U.S. cents, from 70.54 cents immediately before the statement was released.Traders expect the central bank will lift interest rates by 172 basis points over the coming 12 months, according to the Overnight Index Swap curve. That's down from 200 points before the CPI data was released. Australia's CPI rose 0.5% over the same period, and analysts predict the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike its benchmark interest rate for the fourth time in a row as soon as next week.
Bollard brought forward his timing on rate hikes last month, saying he may move "around the middle of 2010," as opposed to his previous indication that any increase would be in the second half of the year.
The change in stance was "encouraging" for ratings agency Moody's Investors Service, which yesterday noted improving economic conditions in New Zealand as one of the reasons why it raised its outlook on the country's banking sector to ‘stable' from ‘negative.'
Economic growth in China, Australia and emerging Asian nations underpinned gains in New Zealand's commodity prices, though Bollard said sustained growth wasn't assured with "overall activity still reliant on policy support" amid ongoing problems in financial sectors.
A muted holiday shopping period will also give the central bank heart that the economy is far from overheating, with electronic card spending flat in December, and credit card billings fell 0.2% from November.
"Policy stimulus and improving export earnings have seen a pick-up in household spending," he said. "That said, households remain cautious, with credit growth subdued."The residential property market, which was a source of wealth during the housing boom, has posted weak sales volumes while prices have risen.
The median sales prices rose 1.4% to $340,000, even as sales fell to a "concerning" level below 5,000, according to Real Estate Institute data. Still, consumers have begun this year with a spring in their step.
The ANZ Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey showed more optimism about the current state of economy. A net 22% of the 2,049 respondents said now was a good time to buy major household items, compared to a net 11% a month earlier.
In the U.S., the Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark interest rate at an extraordinarily low level of between zero and 2.5%. It reiterated that interest rates will remain subdued for an extended period.
Unemployment dropping
26th January 2010
Source: Otago Daily Times
Unemployment in Queenstown soared in the last six months of 2009 to levels not seen since 2003, but has been dropping steadily in the past couple of weeks.
Work and Income regional director Sue Rissman said unemployment in Queenstown was significantly higher last month than in previous Decembers.
Figures show 109 people were receiving a benefit in December, whereas just eight were on the books in May.
"The higher number of unemployed can be directly attributed to the recession. However, in the first weeks of January, the area is experiencing a steady decline in unemployment," she said.
The major factor for the improvement was an increase in job vacancies.
"Work and Income has 45 job vacancies. In addition, there are dozens of jobs being advertised locally and on national job websites.
"The hospitality industry is looking for workers, and construction seems steady," she said.
Staff were working intensively with clients to assist them into work or training.
Last May, the official number of unemployed people in Queenstown had risen to eight, up from fewer than five three months before.
Only one person was registered as unemployed in May 2008.
The figures had shown a steady decline in unemployment benefit claims from a peak in August 2003, when 127 people were on the dole.
The number of claims ranged between 26 and 72 in 2004, then dipped to between 13 and 29 claims in 2005, eight and 17 in 2006 and between one and eight in 2007.
However, employment agencies say the Queenstown job market is buoyant, despite the higher unemployment rates.
Queenstown and Wanaka Job Agency owner Jethro Robinson said the job market in Queenstown was "very strong".
"Queenstown is looking healthy. There are jobs for workers and people to fill them so it's very buoyant considering there's a recession," he said.
All job sectors were strong including hospitality, construction and administration.
"It's been a pleasant surprise. The job market is much stronger than expected and much stronger than in other areas," he said.
Wanaka was having a "very quiet" summer compared with previous years.
Wanaka-based workers as well as backpackers and seasonal workers were moving to Queenstown where they were finding work more easily than in Wanaka. In spite of the high number of people without work, Queenstown is still attracting overseas workers.
Department of Labour spokesman Rowan Saker said a scheme was under way to attract more holidaymakers to take a working holiday in Queenstown.
The Immigration New Zealand Queenstown hospitality pilot scheme was launched in December and would run until the end of next month.
Mr Saker said the scheme was aimed at helping employers advertise jobs and find working holidaymakers who were already skilled in hospitality.
Of the more than 300 employers who were invited to take part, 38 had registered 145 jobs.
"These job opportunities were emailed to 1136 people who had registered a specific interest in working in Queenstown.
"Jobs and employer contact details were listed on a specific working holiday Queenstown page on the newzealandnow.govt.nz website," he said.
About 10% (111 people) of those who received the email clicked through to see the Queenstown employer page.
The scheme would be evaluated after it finished in February to see if it had had positive results, Mr Saker said.
And where no suitable New Zealand citizens or residents were available or could be trained to do the work on offer, Immigration New Zealand was also granting work permits under the essential skills policy.
Mr Saker said the volume of work permit applications received in the Queenstown branch between July 1 and December 30 was about 10% lower than for the corresponding period in 2008.
About 960 work permits had been approved by the Queenstown branch between October 1, 2009, and January 15, 2010.
Nationally, • Work and Income receives around about 1000 new job vacancies each week. • One in three people seeking support from Work and Income do not go on to a benefit. • In December 2008, 1772 people came off the unemployment benefit and began working. • In December 2009, 3810 people came off the unemployment benefit and found work.
Queenstown gets $60m boost
21st January 2010
The NZ Open is likely to have injected an estimated $60 million in "direct spend" into the Queenstown economy once next week's third tournament at The Hills is over, organisers said.
Tuohy Associates sales and marketing director Mike Godinet said yesterday Destination Queenstown estimates prepared after the first of the three-tournament rights deal in November 2007 showed a direct spend of almost $20 million to the Queenstown economy.
That tournament attracted 34,000 people.
The March 2009 Open battled a cold first two days and clashed with two other major local events to attract 26,000, and Mr Godinet said a bumper crowd of more than 30,000 was predicted for next week's tournament.
"Accommodation is quite tight, golf course bookings are chocka and if you haven't booked your tee time you've probably missed out," he said.
Sunny skies were expected next week and this tournament's school holiday mid-summer timing was expected to attract peak bumper crowds.
Jacks Point golf operations spokesman Rob Donald said their course was "absolutely chocka" for all of next week and the start of the following week, expecting several hundred golfers a day, double or more than usual.
"There's no room if you want carts, only a little walking space ..."
Mr Donald said Jacks Point had been enjoying a "noticeable increase" in Australians during the past few months. Direct trans-Tasman flights and the championship course's competitive A$80 (NZ$100) fees had prompted many Aussies to fly over for summer golfing holidays to escape their heat, he said.
Other courses were similarly heavily booked with barely any tee space left around the Open, and all agreed the event provided a significant boost to the local economy.
Playing Around New Zealand managing director Will Owen, of Christchurch, said Queenstown was a huge drawcard for his totally international clientele.
"Queenstown's buzzing for us at the moment, especially Jacks Point. There's been unprecedented demand."
Golfers could stay in Queenstown as a base for seven nights and play a lineup of top local courses for competitive prices and enjoy sightseeing activities.
Mr Owen said that now with The Hills also opening up, even though it was much dearer at $500 a round, that added to the attraction. He was bringing a group of 20 to play The Hills in March.
The NZ Open had raised Queenstown's golf tourism profile tremendously and attracted new clientele who watched it on the golf channel overseas. But they did not come here to watch golf and would rather play, he said. Ad Feedback
Arrowfield Apartments duty manager Carlyn McLintock said there was no way they could accommodate any more people during the Open, "not even in a wardrobe".
Residents in her neighbourhood had even been coerced into rent-ing their homes out while on holiday to cater for the overload.
Several motels had the odd room free around the Open time and the Rydges Queenstown was fully booked on January 29 and 31.
Millbrook Resort had some large group bookings and only a few rooms in its Village Inn free leading up to the Open.
Staff were expecting the resort's restaurants to be very full during the Open as in previous years.
House prices up, but sales slow
18th January 2010
House prices rose a modest 1.4 per cent in December, but ended the year nearly 10 per cent up from the year before.
Sales figures released this morning by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) show the median residential house price rose in 11 out of 12 districts last month when compared to the same month the previous year.
The national median of $360,000 was up 9.6 per cent on the corresponding figure of $328,500 recorded for December 2008. It was also up $5,000 on the median price for November 2009.
In Auckland, housing prices in December were 9.7 per cent above those in December 2008 with housing prices in Wellington up 9.5 per cent, and Christchurch up by 5.8 per cent.
Other South Island suburbs were up 8.6 per cent and other North Island suburbs were up by 4.2 per cent- also up from the year earlier levels.
The REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index - a more accurate measure of nationwide real estate movements, fell by 0.9 per cent to 3253.4 in the December 2009 month.
In the three months to December, housing prices increased by 2.8 per cent. Compared to 12 months earlier, the REINZ Housing Price Index increased by 6.4 per cent.
Housing prices are 3.8 per cent below their November 2007 peak.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand President Peter McDonald said a shortage of properties available for sale was fuelling the market.
"House prices have definitely stabilised and appear to be slightly gaining, which is a positive sign. The median house price for December 2009 was up 1.4 per cent on the previous month so, while the median price for December 2009 was a record high for that time of the year, it's a case of steady as it goes," he said.
McDonald said it was concerning that fewer than 5,000 residential properties sold in December. There were 655 more houses sold around the country than in December 2008 but still down 640 on December 2007.
Bernard Doyle, economist for Goldman Sachs JBWere said the 2010 outlook for the housing market "appears a lot more balanced than last year".
"We do suspect house prices to post modest gains over the year. However, this is likely to be at a more gradual rate of increase than over 2009, with interest rates set to rise, net migration gains potentially to slow as the Australian economy outperforms, and the labour market remaining subdued."
"The wildcard, of course, is also around changes to the tax treatment of housing," said Doyle.
The Tax Working Group is due to report back its recommendations to the Government this week and Doyle said he suspected housing would be a key pillar of its recommendations.
Building consents hit 18-month high
14th January 2010
Source: Businessday, stuff.co.nz
Building consents for new homes rose 3.1 per cent in November to reach their highest level since May 2008, according to Statistics NZ.
The number, which excluded consents for new apartments, follows an 11 per cent jump in October, but remains some way off the highs experienced in mid-2007.
"Although the trend for new housing units has been increasing since March 2009, it is still considerably lower than the levels seen before mid-2007, "said business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver.
Residential building consents were issued for 1,458 new housing units and 42 new apartments; factoring apartment consents the level of new housing units rose only 1.2 per cent.
The value of consents topped $537 million, an increase of 18 per cent compared with November 2008. The value of non-residential building consents was $389m, a fall of 2.3 per cent.
Statistics NZ says the decrease in non-residential value was partly offset by a large increase in the hospitals and nursing homes category, due to consents for several hospital projects.
NZ rated in top 5 places to live
13th January 2010
Source: NZ Herald
New Zealand is the fifth-best country to live in, according to an index run by magazine International Living.
That's up four places from ninth last year, when the magazine described the country as an Antipodean outpost, "stunning" but with "drawbacks" such as being 12 hours from the United States and the difficulty with immigrating here.
The American index is pitched at those who are retiring or want to migrate. It ranks 194 countries which offer the best quality of life, considering cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate.
This year, the survey raved about "pristine landscapes", the Auckland waterfront and Southern Alps - calling Godzone the type of place younger migrants could relocate to and raise a family. Positive, too, it said, are rebounding property prices.
The magazine then cut and pasted from Immigration New Zealand's website other reasons why the country deserves to be in the top 10.
"In many ways it's not what we have that's important to our quality of life - it's what we don't have. We don't have high crime rates, our police don't carry guns and instances of corruption are virtually unheard of. We don't have abject poverty or hunger and we don't have the pollution, congestion, health issues and cramped city living that we see elsewhere."
Australia improved from fifth overall in 2009 to second, on the back of the way its economy weathered the global financial crisis.
Despite "it's tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes", France, for the fifth year running, was ranked first. Outweighing those factors were the world's best health-care system.
Staff writers also waxed lyrical about the difficulties of measuring a country's "heart and soul".
"But it's impossible to enumerate the joy of lingering for hours over dinner and a bottle of red wine in a Parisian brasserie. Or strolling beside the Seine on a spring morning, poking through the book vendors' wares. Or buying buttery croissants in bohemian Montmartre...
Surprise boost to house prices
11th January 2010
Source: The Dominion Post
House values are creeping back to where they were when the boom reached its peak two years ago.
Figures released today by Quotable Value point to a "dramatic and somewhat unexpected level of turnaround" less than 18 months after the housing market collapsed.
However, economists still expect prices to level out.
Values nationwide are just 4.9 per cent below the peak of the market in late 2007. The average sale price is $404,671.
In Wellington City the average price is now $524,643. It had one of the country's biggest rises in house prices in December, 5.1 per cent, matching the strengthening Auckland housing market.
ANZ National Bank chief economist Cameron Bagrie said the world had changed in the past few years and he did not predict another boom and bust period. "I think it's a sign that monetary policy works – the Reserve Bank stepped up to the plate, you know, Alan Bollard cut interest rates for a reason. We're not seeing credit growth, people have stopped taking on more debt than they can handle.
"We're seeing a bungy-cord style recovery right now, and I predict prices will level out over the next couple of years."
QV valuation manager Glenda Whitehead said the housing market had been rescued by lower interest rates, improving confidence and the age-old affection for property. "In the early months of 2009, with interest rates at their lowest level for many years, scores of home owners took the opportunity to refinance their existing loans and shelved any plans to move in the short term.
"At the same time, potential buyers were holding back in the expectation that values would drop further, although many were tempted back into the market by the low interest rates."
House prices bottomed out in April at 9.6 per cent below the peak and made rapid gains since. However, turnover of houses in 2009 remained low, with a shift towards cheaper houses – a reverse of the trend in 2008. Although there was now speculation of another boom, Ms Whitehead said a cautionary mood prevailed. She predicted that low stock levels in the main centres and tighter bank lending would continue to subdue the market.
The main driver of the turnaround came from the city centres, where house values were now just 3.9 per cent below the peak.
Values rose 4.6 per cent in Christchurch and in Wellington, where growth was more significant in southern and northern suburbs. The average house price in the eastern suburbs is now $573, 126, the highest in the city.
The effect on provincial centres was less pronounced. Values rose 3.2 per cent during the year but were still 7.7 per cent below the peak.
Ad Feedback In Taupo, the average property value fell 1.4 per cent in December. Hastings, central Hawke's Bay, Whanganui, Horowhenua and south Wairarapa also experienced falls. Property values rose 3.3 per cent in Palmerston North, and 3.8 per cent in Kapiti. Ms Whitehead said rural and provincial areas had more listings and demand was lower, but there were signs of prices rising.
Realestate.co.nz: the year of 'the opportunist'
24th December 2009
Source: Press Release: Realestate.co.nz
Realestate.co.nz’s searches show 2009 was the year of ‘the opportunist’
AUCKLAND – 23 December 2009 – Fallout from the recession caused a huge boost in 2009 house-hunters searching for mortgagee sales as opportunistic Kiwis looked to take advantage and find a bargain. The keyword ‘mortgagee’ was searched for over 40,000 times in the past 12 months, equating to one in every 13 searches.
This trend comes via Realestate.co.nz, the country’s most comprehensive property listing website, which has also seen a massive increase in searches for beach destinations with the country perhaps seeking a sanctuary from the doom and gloom of the recession.
As Realestate.co.nz CEO Alistair Helm says, “paralleling the theme of recessionary searches, the top 10 business related searches almost all have a focus on making money. Top search was “investment” with “do up” and “home and income” rounding out the top 10.”
Contrasting the emphasis on recession-related searches, within the top ten were also lifestyle aspiration terms, with punters seeking pools, waterfront living, character properties, villas and garages. As Helm points out:
“2009 was the year of the opportunist; people looked for added value in properties with keywords like ‘beach’, ‘waterfront’ and ‘swimming pool’, showing there was continued interest in coastal properties.”
Analysis of the top location searches shows that Queenstown was top of the table by some distance. In addition, the picturesque and aspirational beach suburb of Sumner made a dynamic and somewhat surprising rise up the chart, from 354 last year to 45 this year. The top ten also included Wanaka, Raglan and Mapua. Helm continues:
“While the property market certainly faced some tough times in 2009, the word ‘investment’ was in fact the most searched for business opportunity phrase, moving up to an overall search ranking of 40, from 297 last year. This indicates that there was a feeling that this year represented a great opportunity to make money if you had available capital.”
About Realestate.co.nz Realestate.co.nz is the official website of the New Zealand real estate industry, and provides the most comprehensive selection of listings across all categories of real estate. Realestate.co.nz lists over 100,000 properties at any one time, representing over 90% of all listings currently marketed by real estate professionals.
Runway extension ready to fly
17th December 2009
Source: The Southland Times
Work has started on a Queenstown Airport runway extension that will require some 76,000 truckloads of fill to complete.
The $5 million runway extension safety area, or RESA, must be completed by October 2011 in order for the airport to continue receiving international flights.
Queenstown Airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said contractor Fulton Hogan had begun laying the foundations for the extension on the Shotover Delta.
Debris was being cleared and the footprint of the extension marked out.
Starting early next year, more than 190 dump trucks of material would be delivered daily over 18 months to reach the 700,000 cubic metres of fill required.
Its footprint will spread out 240m on to the Shotover Delta and slope 30 degrees upward so the top of the area increases the length of the runway buffer by 90m.
At least half of the fill will come free from the nearby Remarkables Park, which received resource consent to undertake earthworks this year, Mr Sanderson said.
"It was a good solution.
"It was a win-win for the airport and Remarkables Park – they get their subdivision and we get the fill for the RESA."
The agreement also minimises the number of trucks on public roads, with the fill being transported across privately owned land from one site to another.
Work will also begin early next year on the extension at the Frankton end of the runway.
Contractors would undertake earthworks and install a jetblast fence to create another 90m safety area. Mr Sanderson was confident the project would be completed by the middle of 2011, several months before the Civil Aviation Authority's October deadline.
Remarkables Park director Alastair Porter said work had started on pegging out the 1.5km eastern arterial road, which trucks would use to transport the fill.
It would be metalled while in use to form the extension and later sealed and opened to the public so people could drive from Remarkables Park, around the end of the runway, to Shotover Park and State Highway 6.
Truck movements are expected to begin in January or February.
Return to 2007 house prices tipped
11th December 2009
Source: The Dominion Post
House prices should be back to their 2007 peaks soon, according to the Reserve Bank, but a 12 per cent annual gain by March is not expected to spark another "borrow and spend" binge by home owners.
Opinions are mixed about whether the housing market will keep rising next year after this year's rebound, with the prospect of floating mortgage rates rises by mid-year or sooner, and a possible clampdown on investment property tax deductions by Government.
Some economists expect house prices to keep rising 5 to 10 per cent in the next couple of years, while others say the market will flatten and possibly dip next year. The Reserve Bank expects the market to soften in 2011.
In its latest official statement yesterday, the Reserve Bank held official interest rates at 2.5 per cent but said they may start to rise around the middle of 2010 if the economy keeps recovering. In previous statements the central bank had said rates would not move up till "the second half of 2010".
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard is holding the cash rate steady as he monitors "considerable uncertainty" about the durability of economic growth. But he presented an upbeat picture yesterday with growth forecast to rise 3 per cent next year and unemployment near an expected peak of 6.7 per cent.
House prices had risen quickly this year because few were for sale or few new homes being built while demand had increased with stronger net migration to New Zealand.
However, the Reserve Bank does not expect another "borrow and spend" binge. "New Zealanders have taken some lessons out of the global financial crisis and what they saw as some vulnerability in house prices," Dr Bollard said.
People were paying off debt and in some cases even trading down to smaller homes to cut debt.
Economists warned that floating mortgage rates will start rising by June and possibly as soon as April, eventually rising about 3 per cent.
Along with a possible government clampdown on tax write-offs on investment property, rising interest rates could see house prices flatten or fall slightly next year, according to ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie. "I think the [property] market is already starting to level out with interest rates moving up," he said. Prices would be "sideways or slightly down" in 2010 as interest rates moved up and the Government clamps down on the $2 billion-a-year tax deduction on the housing market through Loss Attributing Qualifying Companies (LAQCs). "It will get closed down," and he said there may be an indication from the Government on that next week.
In the past two months, volumes of home sales and the days to sell had levelled out and mortgage approvals had flattened, suggesting house prices would level out in 2010, too, Mr Bagrie said. "It is a fallacy to think we are going back to [he housing market] of 2006 and if we try that on, the Reserve Bank will move [rates up] earlier," Mr Bagrie said.
But Bank of New Zealand chief economist Tony Alexander warned house prices will keep rising 5 to 10 per cent a year over the next two years because of a simple shortage of homes. That was also likely to push up rents next year. "We don't have a big oversupply of houses and we have a worsening undersupply of new homes with low construction."
At worst in the recession house prices fell 11 per cent but had recovered more than 9 per cent already. Prices would also keep rising when builders started flooding back to Australia next year as that economy boomed, further reducing the supply of new homes, Mr Alexander said.
However, house building would be a key source of economic activity with more work for sawmills and manufacturers and retailers of household goods.
Reserve Bank holds cash rate steady
10th December 2009
Source: The Dominion Post
The Reserve Bank is holding official interest rates at 2.5 per cent, but says rates may start to rise around the middle of 2010 if the economy keeps recovering.
In previous statements the central bank had said rates would not move up till "the second half of 2010."
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard is holding the cash rate steady as he monitors ongoing uncertainty about the durability of New Zealand's economic growth.
"If the economy continues to recover, conditions may support beginning to remove monetary stimulus around the middle of 2010. Recent tightening in financial conditions, driven by a higher exchange rate, increased long-term interest rates and a wider gap between the OCR and bank funding costs, reduces the need for more immediate action," he said
"The New Zealand economy continues to recover but there remains considerable uncertainty about the durability of the expansion. Global activity has continued to rebound. Most obviously, activity in Australia, China and emerging Asia continues to increase and solid growth is expected over the next few years.
"The picture is more mixed in the major developed economies. While activity is expanding, sustained growth is not assured. Financial sectors are still impaired in a number of economies and economic activity is still heavily dependent on policy support.
The economy's recovery reflecting improved world growth, higher export commodity prices, increased government spending and housing strength," he said.
A central uncertainty is the extent to which higher house prices are eventually reflected in increased consumer spending. At this point credit growth remains subdued suggesting households are being relatively cautious.
"While business confidence has improved, actual business spending remains weak. In addition, the high level of the New Zealand dollar has limited the scope for exports to contribute to the recovery. After some short-term correction the current account deficit is expected to widen in the future.
"Annual CPI inflation is expected to remain below 2 per cent until early 2011 and track within the target range over the medium term.
"The economy is being assisted by both monetary and fiscal policy support. As growth becomes self sustaining, fiscal consolidation would help reduce the work that monetary policy might otherwise need to do.
Plan change receives conditional support
10th December 2009
Source: Otago Daily Times
More than 20,000 flights a year could be taking place at Queenstown Airport by 2037, if growth predictions are accurate, the Queenstown Lakes District Council's strategy committee was told yesterday.
The committee was given the information as part of a report on the airport corporation's private plan change, which seeks to amend existing air noise boundaries and allow flights to land at the airport between 10pm and midnight.
QLDC senior policy analyst Karen Page said Airbiz, an international specialist aviation consultancy company, had assessed the airport's operations and growth predictions.
Passenger numbers for scheduled aircraft are predicted to grow from 700,640 in the year ending June 30, 2008 to 2,348,139 by June 30, 2037.
"This would result in an increase in annual aircraft movements for scheduled flights from 8350 in 2008, to in excess of 20,000 flights in 2037.
"If the airport is to provide for this growth, then the existing noise boundaries will have to be extended," Ms Page said.
The airport was operating near the limits of noise levels permitted by the air noise boundary, and the proposed plan change would see an extension of that boundary and the outer control boundary; the addition of a sound insulation boundary and a new night-time noise boundary.
It would also introduce new objectives, policies and rules to the district plan to protect the airport against reverse sensitivity effects.
Ms Page said the council had three options with regard to the plan change.
It could not reject it because the plan change met the tests under Resource Management Act and it "would not be appropriate" to treat the plan change as a resource consent, as it involved a change to the airport noise contours and planning provisions.
The council could accept it, meaning the applicant would incur the full cost of the plan change, including any council time spent processing the application.
Accepting a plan change did not mean the council agreed with the contents of the plan change request.
"Provided that the plan change passes the grounds for rejection, the council must accept a private plan change to allow the public to consider its merits," Ms Page said.
The council could adopt it in full, which would normally mean the council would absorb the full cost of the plan change; however, Queenstown Airport Corporation had agreed to incur the cost of the plan change through a private stakeholders' agreement.
By adopting the plan change, the council would be acknowledging it was something the council might initiate in the future to enable airport growth.
However, two main issues were apparent: a lack of any proposed aircraft noise controls in the plan change, and a lack of any provisions around compensation in the plan change.
The final option was for the council to adopt the plan change in part, which would give it the chance to "exclude" the later flight arrivals.
"My recommendation is that strategy [committee] recommend to full council that the plan change is adopted in part, excluding the night-time flight provisions; that the provisions relating to night-time flying are accepted; and that a report to the strategy committee be received . . . regarding a submission recommendation on [the plan change].
"Obviously, because the existing operating hours go to 10pm . . . our recommendation would be to leave those potential hours open for discussion . . . as opposed to the council adopting it in full at this stage."
Cr John R. Wilson said more work needed to be done on the noise boundaries, particularly with the potential for late flights landing in winter.
"These planes will be flying in on a winter's night . . . Sound goes a long, long way. Big planes coming in later at night creates a disturbance."
Cr John Mann said he had been approached by a ratepayer concerned about "24-hour landings".
However, if the plan change were successful, planes could land until midnight, but no planes would be permitted to leave.
"There's not going to be takeoffs after 10pm . . . There's nowhere to fly to."
Cr Cath Gilmour said the airport was "very strong" on protecting its own interests but "not very strong on protecting the community's interests".
"If we're adopting . . . we're saying that we adopt and therefore recommend the approach thus far taken by QAC. It's putting a lot of trust and good faith in a commercial operation."
The committee voted to accept the recommendation as put, which will be discussed by the full council next week.
Cr Gilmour voted against the recommendations.
Southern property dragging its heels
7th December 2009
Source: The Southland Times
Southern property values have bucked the improving national trend, according to the latest QV valuation.
Figures released yesterday, show only the Invercargill and Clutha areas recorded average house prices above this time last year, up 0.4 and 2 per cent, respectively.
Average prices in the Queenstown Lakes district were down 6.1 per cent, while Central Otago (down 3.1 per cent), Gore (down 2.6 per cent) and greater Southland (down 1.9 per cent) are also worse than 12 months ago.
Nationally, property values have risen 4.1 per cent off their low in April 2009 but are still 5.9 per cent below the market peak in late 2007.
Property values in November were 1 per cent above last year and 0.2 per cent above last month.
The increase in nationwide values was largely driven by the main urban areas, which have risen 4.7 per cent since the low.
First National Group general manager John Stewart said the cities were seeing competition for good properties but the regions "once again had problems with vendors overpricing".
With more homes coming on the market and interest rates tipped to rise, Mr Stewart urged sellers to look carefully at their presentation and pricing.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm said the market recovery was happening only in the main cities.
The shortage of stock in the big city markets and the "hangover" of supply and slower sales in rural areas was responsible, he said.
The average sale price across the country in November was $393,373 – a figure QV said reflected the mix of properties selling rather than absolute value shifts.
MOVING TARGET - AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES: (change during past 12 months in brackets)
November tends to herald the last month for listing property prior to the Christmas break and this year shows the traditional seasonal rise in listings. However the steady growth in listings seen over the past 3 months have begun to outpace the rate of sales of property across the country leading to a further growth in inventory levels in November - taking the equivalent of stock on the market to 36 weeks.
That is to say, based on the current rate of sale, it would take 36 weeks (8.3 months) to clear all the stock. The lowest point of this property cycle was reached in June when inventory reached a low of 31.5 weeks (7.3 months) - since then it has grown for 5 successive months.
The current rate of sales of property from REINZ statistics shows a 12 month total (Nov 08 - Oct 09) of 67,197, this is up 10% on the prior 12 month period but down 31% when compared to the 12 months to October 2007.
This growth of inventory is not spread evenly across the country with the major centers seeing inventory falls whereas provincial NZ is where the significant inventory rises are being seen. The biggest rises are being seen in the Central North Island, Northland, Marlborough, Gisborne and Southland.
Asking Price
The vendor’s expectation of asking price for properties coming onto the market in November grew slightly to $419,586.
This price represented a 1.9% rise in asking price when compared to the moving average of the past 3 months (Aug/Sep/Oct).
The asking price of new listings in November last year was $404,913 representing a 3.6% year on year increase.
New Listings
The number of new listings coming onto the market rose slightly to 13,857, from the October total of 13,550.
Despite the uplift in listings during November the level of new listings over the past 12 months continues to show a 11% fall with 147,813 new listings in the recent 12 months as compared to 165,690 in the prior 12 months spanning 2007/8.
Inventory
The overall level of available inventory as measured by equivalent weeks of sales grew again in November - the 5th consecutive month of rise from 31.5 weeks in June to the current level of 36.0 weeks.
Whilst inventory tends to rise approaching Christmas the levels this year are up on the 33.9 weeks in 2007 but down on the extreme peak of 52.6 weeks in November last year - a time when property sales stagnated.
Regional Summary - Asking price expectation
The national mean asking price showed little movement in November from October as the stability of the market saw a level of vendor expectation being met by buyer demand. Overall there were 13 of the 19 regions showing increases with Gisborne registering the largest increase and Central North Island the biggest fall - both regions affected by small base of data.
The price rise in Auckland of 4.1% is a direct result of the tightness of the market with inventory levels remaining tight as the flow of new listings seems to be being met by a steady demand. The same inventory tightness in the other major centers of Wellington and Canterbury does not seem to be directly impacting asking price at this stage.
Regional Summary - listings
The pendulum has swing in the direction of a buyer’s market as the inventory of property on the market is being bolstered by rises in new listings which is meeting a steady, yet uninspiring sales level. Of the 19 regions round the country 10 are seeing degrees of buyers markets with positive year-on-year increases in listings.
The regions of Central North Island, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki and Nelson all saw rises of more than 20%. Only one region - the Wairarapa showed a significant fall of 59% as compared to November last year.
Wellington continues to see a low level of new listings, just 1,114 in November down 17% compared to last year.
Regional Summary - inventory
The regional make up of the market from an inventory perspective points to a growing buyers market with 11 of the 19 regions showing inventory levels as measured in weeks of equivalent sales running significantly above long term averages.
The only conspicuous regions reversing this trend are the 3 metropolitan regions of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury all of which are showing inventory levels well below long term averages and well below the national average.
These major metropolitan regions are showing characteristics more akin to seller’s market and has prompted some to speculate an emerging property bubble. The breadth of data by reach region clearly refutes this assertion.
Lifestyle Property
Lifestyle listing numbers remain constant over the past 3 months with 1,191 added in November. This represented an 8.1% increase on prior year. Over the past 12 months 11,561 new lifestyle listing have come onto the market a 16% lower amount than in the prior year 12 month period. Significantly lower listing have been seen in Marlborough and the West Coast over the past year both close to 50% down whilst Nelson and Bay of Plenty have seen growth - albeit less than 10%.
The truncated mean asking price for November was $608,616 a 2% increase on November last year and 4% up on the prior 3 month average.
Apartments
November saw 643 new apartments listings come onto the market, up a significant 27% on November last year, however well down on the peak of 2007 when 983 new listing were added in November. Over the past 12 months a total of 6,385 new apartment listings have come onto the market - down 8.5% on the prior 12 month period.
The Auckland market representing in November 59% of all new listings shows a small increase in listings on a 12 month rolling basis with 3,970 listings in the 12 month period. The truncated mean asking price nationally was $364,384 which was 6% down on the 3 month average - Auckland saw listing asking price down 8% at $323,307.
Our new brand revealed
29th November 2009
After months of secret planning and development, the new “hoamz” brand was revealed on Friday, 27th November to management, staff and a select group of specially invited VIP’s.
The International brand consultancy, Mindshelf, was retained by Southern Lakes directors to develop a vibrant new brand that better reflected the growing organisation and the geographic area it is now actively involved in.
Ross Smith, CEO of Mindshelf who has personally steered the re-branding project for more than twelve months said “The hoamz brand is one of the top three new brands we’ve given birth to in the past ten years. It has enormous energy and visual recall, giving it the capacity to quickly become recognised as the leading real estate brand locally, regionally and even nationally”.
Mindshelf has also developed a state-of-the-art back office IT platform –“hoamzhub” described as being at the cutting edge of real estate IT. “This overall project positions hoamz as one of the most visible and resourced real estate agents anywhere” said Smith. “It’s great news for customers buying or selling property too as the promotion of the new brand attracts even more attention, leading to an even more powerful showcase for property”.
Fred Bramwell, Managing Partner at hoamz summed up the new brand by saying “There’s no place like hoamz! The re-brandingproject builds on the past successes of SLRE and positions us in a very compelling and powerful way. We’re excited, our staff are excited and customers who have seen the new hoamz brand are already talking about it in a very positive way!
Mortgagee sales hit new high
22nd November 2009
The number of mortgagee sales around the country has bounced back to a record high after dipping briefly in August, dashing hopes the worst effects of the recession may be over.
And with banks quietly moving to raise their short-term fixed mortgage rates, some people could find it even harder to hang on to their homes.
Latest figures show 343 mortgagee sales were recorded in September – a 42% increase on the previous month's figure of 241, and a 2000% increase on the 16 sales in September 2007 when the property boom was at its height.
Mortgagee sales accounted for 4.7% of the 6400 property sales recorded in September.
Mortgagee sales serve as a strong indicator of how the economy is faring. In August they fell for the first time in six months, sparking speculation the worst effects of the recession were over. But these latest figures, released by property and land information company Terralink, suggest many homeowners are still struggling to meet financial commitments.
Although the main centres still account for the bulk of mortgagee sales, it was the regions that experienced the biggest increases last month. Notable jumps were in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu and Otago (see table).
Terralink managing director Mike Donald had expected the figures for September to be up on the previous month but was surprised by the scale of the increase.
"It is a record," Donald said. "While we had thought it [mortgagee sales] would continue at a high level, we had thought it had reached its peak, but that doesn't look like it's the case, indicating that as unemployment rises and SMEs [small to medium-sized enterprises] struggle, it is impacting on the ability of homeowners to keep up with their mortgage payments."
Donald said about a fifth of the mortgagee sales involved "mum and dad" property owners – people whose family home was their only property.
"The ones who are most getting into strife are the individuals who own more than one property or the entities or corporations that are property investing or property developing," Donald said. They accounted for 74% of the mortgagee sales.
The figures come as banks raise short-term fixed mortgage rates, suggesting the time for cheap loans may be coming to an end. ANZ increased its fixed rates last week for six-month, one-year and two-year terms by about 25 basis points to 5.99%, 6.2% and 7.25% respectively. ASB Bank made a similar unannounced increase earlier this month and it now has the highest one-year fixed rate of 6.25%.
Economists are generally advising homeowners taking out a new loan or rolling off a fixed-term mortgage to fix for a short period or opt for the cheaper floating rate. ASB and National Bank have the cheapest floating rates at 5.75%, whereas ANZ is the most expensive at 6.45%.
Although those rates could make it easier for first-home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder, the Reserve Bank is cautioning against relying on rates staying at those levels. In its half-yearly Financial Stability Report it advises homeowners to look to the long-term fixed rates, which have risen to as high as 8.75%, as a "better guide" to the medium-term cost of a mortgage.
By LOIS CAIRNS - Sunday Star Times
Newspapers big losers as property searchers stampede online
31st August 2009
Each year around this time there is heated anticipation for the release of the annual Nielsen Real Estate Market Report. This comprehensive survey of property buyers and sellers has become a seminal guidebook to the trends in real estate as it has been undertaken in each of the past 4 years.
The survey covers many aspects of consumer behaviour, attitudes and awareness of the industry and each year new insights and critical trends emerge.
This year one chart from the amongst one hundred pages of the report leaped out and said in a confident and striking manner - LOOK AT ME!
A total of 1,206 people were asked the question:
“Thinking about the different media and other things that you consult for the purpose of researching real estate, how useful do you perceive the following?”
The respondents were shown a list of 14 sources of real estate information - everything from TV and real estate office window displays to magazines, newspapers and the web, in all their different forms. The respondents were then asked to rate each by how useful they though each was. The chart below compares the 2 major competing media - newspapers and specialist real estate websites.
The results are staggering with 95% of people saying that specialist real estate websites were “useful or very useful” as compared to just 49% for newspapers - taking the judgement of “very useful”; less than 1 in 10 judged newspapers as “very useful”, whereas with specialist real estate websites 2 out of 3 judged them “very useful”.
Evaluating all of the 14 media options as to how many had been consulted in the past week equally startling trends emerged, comparing this year to last year.
Right up at the top of the list is specialist real estate websites; up from 69% last year to 78% this year. Other web options of company websites and search engines showed growth at 63% and 38% respectively.
However the print versions of real estate saw significant declines. Specialist magazines remain relevant although falling from 55% to just 46%. Local newspapers fell from 49% to 40% and then far behind was national / metropolitan newspapers down from 43% last year to just 31% this year - this means that now less than a third of all property researchers surveyed consulted metropolitan newspapers in the past week.
These figures are in some ways not that alarming as the rise in traffic to real estate websites has been enormous over the past few years, however despite this and despite the behaviour of buyers and sellers in using the web as the primary means of researching real estate - the real estate industry still has a love affair with printed publications, demonstrated by the colossal scale of investment of vendors money in print media, with so little relatively being placed in online media advertising of property.
I can’t help recounting a moment sitting just last month listening to a panel discussion at the Inman Connect Conference in San Francisco. I was not surprised. Nor were any of my fellow participants. One after another real estate agents shared their approach to marketing-about both marketing of themselves and of their clients’ properties. Not one of them mentioned newspapers. There are some agents in NZ who share this ethos and maybe in time we will see more; however I think the onus may need to come from property sellers to share their view on the appropriateness of online vs. offline when it comes to vendor-paid-marketing.
Wanaka author, identity and renowned Tolkien fan Ian Brodie is packing his bags and heading for Hobbiton.
The founding director of Wanaka's successful New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum is taking up a position as media and communications manager at the Matamata-based Lord of the Rings tourist attraction, near Hamilton.
Mr Brodie, 52, has worked at the museum since it was founded in 1992 by Sir Tim Wallis. Mr Brodie's wife, Diane, has also worked as the museum administrator for the past four years.
Mr Brodie, who has written 17 books, including the top- selling Lord of the Rings Location Guide Book and other books on airshow and film topics, said he was excited about the new opportunity, which would allow him to help develop the Hobbiton farm tourist attraction. About 170,000 visitors had been through Hobbiton since it opened seven years ago.
Tolkien books and fighter planes were his passion, he said.
"If you can get paid for a hobby, you can't go wrong," Mr Brodie said. He had just returned from seven weeks in England commentating on airshows, a job he had been doing since 1992.
Mr Brodie said the interest in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and its film locations in New Zealand had "not lost its hype".
"It's the second-biggest read book after the Bible, so immediately you've got a huge fan base.
"It's implanted in people's minds, the New Zealand landscapes - if you're a real fan you'll still save and go there. It's got longevity, it's going to last a long time."
The Queenstown Lakes District, traditionally the land of "zero unemployment", has jumped from just two registered unemployed to 114 during the past year.
Work and Income southern region labour market manager Paul Casson said it was the first time in years the Queenstown and Wanaka areas had registered more than a few unemployed.
It was a concern but the problem was likely to be short-lived.
"We have 56 jobs registered in our Queenstown office . . . and we've just got 50 jobs come in from Burger King (opening soon), on top of that," Mr Casson said.
Positions on offer included chefs, builders, hairdressers and painters. "Queenstown traditionally has zero unemployment and the Central Otago/Gibbston Valley area has been declared as a 'labour market shortage' area from September through until April."
Winz would be working hard to place all 114 unemployed New Zealanders from throughout the district into jobs.
That problem would have been made easier if a high proportion of them had not come from Wanaka, Mr Casson said.
Many Wanaka unemployed had problems with accommodation and transport, and did not want to travel over the Crown Range during winter, he said.
The higher number of jobseekers was because of a combination of redundancies within the construction industry and tourism "softening a little bit", but there were generally fewer jobs across the board, Mr Carson said.
Queenstown Lakes was a seasonal job market and the early snowfalls had been encouraging for the ski industry.
"But some employers are a bit nervous about taking people on. We're seeing that right across the region. They're waiting for contracts to confirm or the recovery to occur."
However, there had been some positive visitor numbers and airline flights coming to Queenstown, which remained the "jewel in the crown" for the country.
For the first time in the Queenstown Lakes area, Work and Income's Working For You seminars for the unemployed were being held weekly to help people back into work.
Unemployment was on the rise throughout the region, whether in the seasonal horticulture and pip industry or meat and dairy industries.
Queenstown Primary School would have no problem catering for its new Years 7 & 8 students from next year with a new $1.4 million due for completion in December, principal John Western said this month.
Funding of $860,000 had been secured for the new block of five learning studios during the extreme roll growth two years ago and construction started six weeks ago, Mr Western said.
However, even with the proposed reorganisation and Years 7 and 8 students being dropped from Wakatipu High sending 100 Year 7#39;s to Queenstown Primary from next year, Mr Western said he was pretty confident his roll would be no larger than the 640 it was at now.
Some of his pupils would attend the new Remarkables Primary School opening next year and that school would build up to a roll of 475 through a transition period during the next three years.
He said Wakatipu High as yet his school had not yet decided how it would provide those home economics, woodwork and metalwork technology options, but they would definitely be available to Year 7's starting out next year.
Mr Western said it was very uncertain times for staff at both his school and Wakatipu High, but he would not know how many teachers he would need until that had been discussed collectively with the ministry, teacher unions and his school#39;s board.
We#39;re waiting for ministry information to make that clearer... Mr Western said.
A $25 million commercial development at Frankton remains on schedule for a late November completion.
Terrace Junction development director Lindsay Williams said stage one of the retail and office precinct was on target to be finished next month, with stage two expected to be finished two months later.
"Things are starting to take shape and it's getting very exciting. "Some of the tenant fit-outs have begun on stage one and others are about to start. It's all go on every front. We've got sprinklers going in, windows going in, it's all very exciting."
Bridgman & Dean Optometrists, Betty's Liquor, Westpac and Burger King were among the confirmed tenants, he said.
Only two of the 11 ground floor spaces remained and retail and office spots on the first floor were also being filled.
The development is beside the BP service station and will be anchored by a 102-seat Burger King restaurant. Rival McDonald's is planning to open a 139-seat restaurant on the opposite side of the road, next to the Mobil petrol station.
Central Otago winemakers are being urged to position themselves in key overseas export markets ready for an economic recovery, likely to occur sooner than expected.
Southern winegrowers represented at the Wine Exporters Forum in Christchurch say the news was all good for Central Otago, with pinot noir one of the fastest growing wine varieties being imported in the United States.
New Zealand Winegrowers Association deputy chairman Steve Green said this was great for Central Otago, as almost 80 per cent of its plantings were pinot noir.
The second most popular variety being exported to the United States was riesling and Central Otago was also becoming renowned for its riesling.
Obviously pinot noir is particularly relevant for Central Otago with almost 80 per cent of our plantings in pinot noir, Akarua Wines marketing manager Jacqui Murphy said.
Central Otago was fast becoming recognised as a producer of some stunning Rieslings as well as pinot gris and chardonnay.
Overseas experts speaking at the forum had told winegrowers that, in spite of the economic recession, they should not stop their marketing pushes into major export markets, as the economic recovery would be sooner than thought.
They basically told us, #39;don#39;t take your foot off the pedal in your marketing as it (the market) will recover#39;, Ms Murphy said.
Mr Green said between 40 and 50 per cent of Central Otago's pinot noir fruit would end up being exported each year - about 15 per cent of that heading into the North American (Canadian/US) market.
Some larger New Zealand companies, such as Villa Maria, bought Central Otago pinot noir fruit to make their wine.
Australia was another very strong market for New Zealand winegrowers and one where Central Otago pinot noir was doing "exceptionally well", Mr Green said.
That was probably due to the fact that Australia was unable to produce some of the cool-climate wines that New Zealand could. However, Australia had also managed to "escape the recession" to some extent, Mr Green said.
The other key market targeted by Central Otago growers was the United Kingdom.
"Our plan is to position ourselves for when things get better again," Mr Green said.
A new seamless connection offered by Jetstar between Japan and Auckland from October 25 might boost the Japanese market in Queenstown, Jetstar spokesman Gerard Blank said this month.
He said the flight would connect with Jetstar's daily flight from Auckland to Queenstown and was targeting the Japanese adventure youth traveller.
The move, launched with cheap NZ$449 fares between Tokyo and Auckland and Osaka and Auckland on sale this month for travel until December 9, would encourage more Japanese travellers into Auckland and on to Queenstown.
Destination Queenstown's general manager marketing Graham Budd said it was a positive move with Japanese visitor numbers to New Zealand down 30 to 50 per cent during the past year.
"That's a huge decline, but that market Jetstar is targeting may motivate a new market, so it's got to be good."
For now the Japanese market had been in "a bit of a holding pattern", but Destination Queenstown was targeting Australians.
The Government has approved just under $720,000 for a much- needed second Arrowtown community preschool, which could be open by the middle of next year.
With 125 children already on the waiting list for the existing 30-space preschool, project manager for the new centre Juliet Pope said yesterday that work was ready to begin on construction within the next two months.
"We're ecstatic - we first applied (for funding) in October last year and were turned down, so we reapplied in April this year and we've been successful this round." She said the centre would be finalising the building consent drawings within the next week or two.
Head teacher Jane Foster said parents were desperate for a new facility and the grant was fantastic news.
The second centre was also licensed for 30 children but because the preschool was sessional that could cater for up to 50 children with shared placements.
Parents surveyed last year would be given priority and would be individually contacted during the next week to confirm their interest, Mrs Foster said.
"We've got such a waiting list - parents are just desperate," she said.
She said the new centre would probably focus more on 2 to 4-year olds as this seemed to be where the greatest need was. The existing 30-space centre would continue to cater for 3 to 5-year-olds, taking up to 60 children in sessions as it did now.
Six new teachers would be needed for the new centre and Mrs Foster said they had already received a registration of interest.
The preschool had to stump up $40,000 to put towards the $759,000 building cost for the project - $20,000 of that would be raised through a loan and $20,000 had already been fundraised. It would have to raise a further $50,000 and the centre would apply for an Education Ministry establishment grant of up to $30,000 to cover some of that cost.
Fundraising would begin immediately to help make up the shortfall.
Clutha-Southland MP Bill English said more children in Central Otago would now be able to access early childhood education thanks to Government funding for a new pre-school in Arrowtown.
Arrowtown Community Preschool received over $600,000 in funding as part of $8.9 million in grants from the Discretionary Grants Scheme, recently announced by Government.
Access to early childhood education has been an issue for many families in this area and I am pleased that we have been able to address that through this funding.
This money will be a relief for the many parents in and around Arrowtown who have campaigned for some time to get this project off the ground. It will also mean that even more preschoolers will now be able to get the sort of educational start that they deserve.
Arrowtown is a great little community and I know that they will value and support their new preschool. I am delighted that they have been successful in securing the funding that will turn their vision into a reality.
The company behind the proposed $150 million monorail linking Queenstown and Milford Sound hopes new answers to questions raised by the Department of Conservation will give the project added momentum.
Riverside Holdings chief executive Bob Robertson said it had spent more than eight months working on an environmental impact assessment that should address issues raised in a "comprehensive" audit of the proposal.
The company wants to take passengers from Queenstown to Lake Te Anau via a catamaran journey across Lake Wakatipu, followed by a 45-kilometre all- terrain vehicle trip to Kiwi Burn near the Mavora lakes, and a 41km monorail trip to Te Anau Downs on the Milford road.
The proposed route of the ATV trip is likely to follow the planned cycleway loop through the Von Valley towards Lake Mavora. But it is not clear how the "Around the Mountain Trail" would affect the monorail proposal.
Mr Robertson said although some new initiatives and schemes that might relate to it were being proposed, he was unable to comment until the new information was lodged.
An application for an easement for the monorail across DOC land was lodged in late 2006 but a subsequent audit had highlighted various matters that needed to be covered in the environmental impact assessment.
The original reports had not gone into finer details because the company did not want to spend money developing the project before a clearer indication of its future was available, Mr Robertson said.
"We have had a delay for a number of reasons. The original application wasn't accepted in its entirety and more questions had to be asked and we had to upgrade our submission significantly.
"That's finally been put together and we intend to lodge that in about three weeks."
If DOC supported the proposal, public submissions would be sought.
The monorail is one of several proposals to improve transport links between Queenstown and Milford Sound.
Milford Dart Ltd wants to build a 10.2km tunnel between the Routeburn and Hollyford valleys. Managing director Tom Elworthy said it hoped to have a draft decision from DOC in about two months.
If DOC approved the proposal, the public would also have a chance to comment, Mr Elworthy said.
United States billionaire and philanthropist Julian Robertson has been granted permission from the Overseas Investment Office to buy Matakauri Lodge, near Queenstown.
The office has approved a 100 per cent purchase of the property by Waiaua Bay Farm Ltd, a wholly owned company of Mr Robertson's, for a confidential sum. However, Queenstown media have reported the sale was understood to be worth $12 million.
"The applicant intends to acquire Matakauri Lodge, temporarily shut it down and refurbish it," a Land Information New Zealand document says.
"The applicant will then operate it as a going concern."
Six kilometres from Queenstown on the Glenorchy Road, the luxury lodge features suites and villas that have been available for up to $7382 a night in the high season.
New York-based Mr Robertson made headlines in May when it was announced he was donating 15 art works worth a reported $115 million to the Auckland Art Gallery.
He also developed and owns the Kauri Cliffs golf resort in Northland and the Cape Kidnappers golf course in Hawke's Bay.
Forbes last year estimated his worth at US$1.3 billion.
Remarkables Primary School is awaiting approval from the Education Ministry for its enrolment zone for next year before it can start taking enrolments, with just 13 weeks of the school year remaining.
School board chairman Roy Thompson said the school was unable to put its enrolment zone proposal to the ministry until the ministry announced whether Wakatipu High School would retain Years 7 & 8 and whether Queenstown Primary School would gain them. That announcement came 10 days ago with Wakatipu High to lose Years 7 & 8 and Queenstown Primary to gain them from next year.
Remarkables Primary will cater for Years 1 to 8, but will not be taking on Years 7 & 8 students until 2012. It will open at the start of next year with just Years 1 to 2 pupils for the first two terms, building up to Year 4 at the start of term 3. Mr Thompson said he expected the school could have about 200 pupils by the end of next year.
He said he hoped the ministry could approve the school's enrolment zone proposal within a week or two so it could go out to the public for a definitive zone before opening up enrolments. Any student within the zone would be guaranteed a place at Remarkables Primary. Students within the zone but already attending Queenstown Primary School will have school bus transport supplied until the end of 2012, but from then on will have to find their own transport if they stay at Queenstown Primary.
The proposed zone for Remarkables Primary School would be Frankton, Kelvin Heights, Jacks Point, Quail Rise and Lake Hayes Estate. All other areas were likely to come under the Queenstown zone with Arrowtown's enrolment zone likely to stay the same.
Mr Thompson said the new school was taking shape with a principal, deputy principal and two senior teachers with supervisory responsibilities.
Later in the year we will hire teachers and we will hire based on individual merit.
Meanwhile, with more than a dozen Wakatipu High School teachers likely to be affected and Queenstown Primary School as yet unsure how many teachers it will require under the reorganisation next year, the PPTA (Post Primary Teachers Association) and NZEI (New Zealand Education Institute) are both getting involved to ensure the teachers' rights are protected.
Wakatipu High School has had to halt plans for a new $1.3 million classroom block, after Education Minister Anne Tolley announced this month Years 7 and 8 students would be dropped from its roll next year. School board chairman Peter Doyle said the board was considering whether or not to appeal the decision, which was a total shock and did not appear to be based on any practical reasons.
More Expansion For Queenstown Airport
31st August 2009
The arrival of two new airlines to Queenstown Airport within three months has forced a $600,000 expansion of the airport building to accommodate additional check-in facilities.
Jetstar began domestic flights in and out of the resort on June 10 and Pacific Blue is due to start international services from Saturday.
Queenstown Airport finance and property manager Karen Castiglione said the check-in hall now needed to be extended, with construction due to start on September 14.
Changes to the terminal would include the renovation of a veranda area, the relocation of a duty-free store and the addition of a 16-computer internet lounge.
The job, expected to cost about $600,000, was being put out for tender this week.
Ms Castiglione said the airport would carry the cost of the rebuild, although this would likely be covered in time by the increased passenger traffic the new airlines generated. The extension comes less than two years after a $31 million redevelopment of the airport was completed.
The airport's master plan had always provided for the veranda expansion as part of the staged expansions for the airport.
Pacific Blue would use temporary check-in desks until construction was complete.
The inaugural New Zealand Winter Games have been hailed a huge success as organisers and participants celebrated the closure of the much-lauded 10-day competition on August 30.
The inaugural games closed at Coronet Peak after 10 days of competition involving 800 athletes from 40 countries. Not even rain and blustery winds could dampen spirits on the final day of competition with all in agreement it all had been an exceptional winter-sports outing.
Games founder, prominent Queenstown-based businessman Sir Eion Edgar was a very happy man, saying the Winter Games had exceeded the expectations of all involved. The level of competition had been extremely high and visiting athletes had raved about their experience, Sir Eion said.
Broadcast to about 500 million viewers worldwide, the games had put Otago on the map.
Discussions would be held among partners to decide when and how the games should be staged again, but Sir Eion understood there was strong support for a return in two years.
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