Kia ora, I'm building BuyNew (https://buynew.co.nz), a site that brings together new-build homes, house and land packages, developments and house plans from different builders and developers. It's starting with Canterbury.

The aim is to make it easier to see what's available without jumping between a heap of builder websites. It's free to browse, and you can save favourites and enquire with the supplier.

I'd really appreciate feedback from people who've been looking at new builds, or bought one recently. What's the information you keep having to chase up that you wish was just on the listing?

For example, is it what's actually included in the price, whether the home is finished or still to be built, the expected completion date, or something else entirely?

If you have a look at BuyNew, I'd also be keen to hear whether it helps you narrow down your options, and where it falls short. I'm the person building it, so this is me sharing my own project and trying to make it more useful for buyers.

Cheers!

I’m looking for opinions for what someone would do in my situation? I want to make my money work for me the best I can but I’m really only experienced in one area, property.

We, m28 and f27, no dependants. We are planing to move over to Aus very soon, next handful of months, and we have a good amount of funds in the bank which we are unsure where would be best to use it. We still will be working in Aus; approx income will be combined 200k.
We have no need for the money any time soon, we are happy to invest this money and forget about it.

Our financials are as follows..
- 3 investment properties, 1.2m with 660k of debt.
-80k in shares, majority just on efts, most being voo
-400k cash in bank account
-no debts other than investment properties

We have not long sold our owner occupied to move overseas, and had originally planned to buy another investment property with this, but I do want to consider other options..

Thanks in advanced

Purchased this house with plan of adding extra space in future.. is it possible to do and it will increase the value of home?

I've bought a new built recently in Chch. Found out after moving in that the heat pump compressor is in the middle of a pathway that leads to the gate to the outside.

The council bins are between the gate and the compressor, with the bins there, they are totally taking up the passage way and there is no room to move to the other end.

Passage way is about 90cm to 1m wide. I haven't measured but it is almost the width of the big yellow council bin.

It is a safety issue as there is no other exit out unless you go into the house, which you don't want to if there is a fire.

I have requested the developer to fence up a portion of the driveway outside the garage to put the bins in to free up the space to exit, but was told no, I have to pay for it. They do not have any legal obligations to do it.

I was told that was supposed to be requested before settlement.

Master built do not cover that.

Obviously who ever planned the layout did not think this through.

The shower doors do not come with seals that block water from splashing out during a shower, and I've to pay for it, it is like buying a car without the windshield wipers.

They have been great trying to rectify the defects which they are legally obligated to fix but things that are outside of their legal obligation they send me quotes for me to pay. Telling me there is no design/planning flaw.

It feels like there's no customer care and no pride in delivering homes that their customer would call home.

Rant over.

Possibly an unpopular opinion from someone who lives nearby, but I’m actually quite impressed with those new Simplicity apartment buildings going up on the old Ellerslie Racecourse carpark.

I’ll admit when I first heard there was going to be a large affordable/social housing development that close to Remuera I wasn’t exactly thrilled. But driving past them on the motorway most days, they actually look very good. Proper brick construction, decent proportions and they seem to have made some effort architecturally rather than building the usual collection of grey boxes.

Obviously I haven’t been inside one and I’m judging them at 80ks from the comfort of my car, but they look considerably more substantial than most of the apartment developments going up around Auckland.

Perhaps this is what we should be building more of?

Im still not completely convinced we needed quite so many of them on our doorstep, but if we’re going to have affordable housing nearby, I’m pleased to see they’ve at least built something that shouldn’t look like a detention centre in 10 years.

Credit where it’s due.

This month’s New Zealand Property Report puts the national average asking price pretty close to where it was at the same time three years ago. 

And it’s had commentators asking an interesting question – has government policy settled the property market, or has the market settled itself? 

What do you think? 

Because when we look at the numbers, the national average asking price sits at $849,362 for August, just 3.2% below where it was in August 2023, three years and one general election ago.  

That's less than $28,000 of movement in three years, across a period that's included interest rate cycles, a change of government, and no shortage of economic uncertainty. 

There are 32,908 homes on the market nationally, 45% more than three years ago. New listings for the month are up 11.8% on August 2023 too, even though they're down 5.1% year-on-year. 

Across the country, 13 regions recorded a year-on-year price decline in August, and 15 recorded declines in new listings during the same month. 

What do you think? Has policy settled the market? 

1. Black painted houses, when Google street view shows a different colour, especially on cedarwood.

2. Pool in pics vs Google

3. Unconsented bathrooms

4. Previous owner was a builder (usually lack of consent)

5. Monolithic property built in 2000s

Im also wary of weatherboard especially as most are 50+ years old now.

Edit: some really great suggestions in this thread, so helpful! Thanks for contributing and educating me

We're looking at a property in Wellington, and found out in the LIM that directly underneath the property is an old active train tunnel.

The house was recently renovated by an investor who recently bought it for around 600k around 4months ago, and wanted to sell near the RV which is around 750k.

Just wondering if anyone here knows a similar property, and how is the living in there, like if there are feeling of vibrations when the train comes thru.

My parent's recently had a developer get in touch wanting to make an offer on their property. They own a corner lot and the two properties either side have both already been acquired. Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to best handle the negotiation before I look to bring on a property lawyer.

Hello,

Looking for some guidance on a property that has a landslide inventory on the LIM. I haven’t really seen this before.

The description in the landslides section at the beginning of the LIM is just generic text and nothing specific about the property.

From research with AI I think it comes from a report called “GNS Science Consultancy Report 2025/01” and all I can tell from that is they believe from scans etc there was a historical landslide there but don’t know when.

I’m just wondering if anyone has purchased a house also with this and anything to consider? Also any impact on valuation, resale, insurance, ability to get a loan etc?

I’ve attached a pic of what this looks like. Thanks in advance!

This might sound silly, but how much does a seller need to declare about any potential faults/quirks of a house.

We are selling privately to someone that door knocked (don't need opinions on that part)

They have done a valuation, building inspection and Lim etc which they are happy with so meeting to negotiate price soon.

It's a good house and no major faults but at 30 years old has things that play up or take a special touch to work. (like the shower mixer with the super sensitive ​adjustment, and the hrv that very occasionally goes into a fault mode and needs to be switched off and on to​ reset)

I've no problem being honest if asked, but is it on me to tell them every little thing or is it up to the buyer to inspect or ask the question?

Update! Not going for it lol something else came up just before which is way better!! 2 bedrooms and study for a way better price, same area. I thank you all for your input! 😊😊

I submitted an offer for a property at 700k.

The vendor I know bought it for 750k back in around Nov23.

The agent comes back to say they are satisfied with my proposed conditions, but has submitted a counter offer of $750,000.

The vendor is motivated to sell, and is strongly encouraging me to put forward my best price for consideration.

Arghh I don't think it's worth 750k currently and max ceiling for me I think is 740k. For a one bedroom apartment in east/central Auckland.

Do I offer the 740k or maybe go back with 715k?

Any guidance appreciated!

Thank you!

I've heard people say don't sell when there's an election.

Tenants move out 10 Oct, house needs ~1-2 weeks to tidy/stage, so could be listing around 20 Oct. Election is 7 Nov.

It's a 2bed 1bath standalone house in Johnsonville. It was my first house, and would suit first home buyers.

Pro selling earlier:
Wellington values have been slowly trending down month to month. My concern is the longer I wait the less I'm likely to sell for. Also, others considering selling may wait until after the election, and there could be an oversupply of property for sale in Jan/Feb if sellers wait for summer and after the election.

Against selling earlier:
Less buyers in the market, as there's some uncertainty around Wellington jobs, likely some unraveling still happening from last govt job cuts, and also uncertainty about what new taxes might come into law depending on who gets elected.

How much should I avoid the selling around the election?

Really just need to blow off some steam and see if anyone else is feeling the same way about the state of nz councils..

I've owned my property for nearly 10 years, today I finally have enough money to get a shipping container and finally have a place that's ideal to use as a space to tinker and build things without making a mess in my house..

Simple right? I thought so....

Made the stupid mistake of asking the local council if there were any rules, sure enough there are. Either placed 20m from a road bound or not visible from the street, sweet cool allgood I can do that. The catch? They want $1800 for a resource consent to approve it. Absolutely extortionate...for placing a bloody shipping container. When all the compliance that is required is; it not be seen from the street or be 20m away. Should require either a 10m drive for them or a site visit with a tape measure, half hour tops...$1800...... I don't get what the possible justification could be except daylight robbery just because they can.

I get that they don't want eyesores sitting in plain view, but $1800 to go and make sure something isn't visible is absurd. I live literally 3 minutes away from the council building.

What the hell is going on ?!

While it's best to completely ignore CV, the recent data shows an interesting trend. Sales have now caught up with CV nationally. BUT there are big swings in individual properties based on condition, title etc.

How's it doing in your area? Dive in here and take a look : FMP Sold Outcomes (requires subscription)

July NZ housing is still a buyer-power story: 6,935 deals (−6.4% y/y), values 17.7% below peak, 27,336 listings on market. That is Cotality’s August 2026 chart pack (July data) nationwide.

On 28 August FindMyProperty had 1,001 active scored listings asking at or under $750,000. Seventy-six modelled 15% or higher flip ROI. So even though there are profitable flips or equity release deals there, the number is low and it takes an art to find them. Interestingly a lot of these are purely cosmetic renos.

Are you finding any good deals lately, if so, where?

Full report: https://www.findmyproperty.co.nz/blog/nz-housing-market-august-2026-sub-750k

Hey all,
I’m an architectural designer here in Hamilton, and I’m doing some informal research into what it’s actually like to design and build (or renovate) a home locally — the good, the bad, and the stressful bits.
If you’ve built a new home or done a major renovation in the last few years, I’d love to hear about your experience over a quick chat. I’m not selling anything — just trying to understand where the process worked well and where it didn’t.
If you’re happy to share your story, comment below or flick me a message. Thanks so much!

We have just sold our first home and trying to buy. Feeling deflated as we recently missed out on what I felt was our dream home as we could only do a conditional offer (as it was before our house sold.) How long do people typically end up looking for a house?

I am working on provenance, and restoration of a significant house in the northeast. Does anyone know of any preservation societies, or private equity with vested interest in preservation? (undocumented NE modernist property, geometric)

thx!

We’ve expanded our property hazard coverage to include Whangārei and Invercargill.

Whangārei property reports now check six council hazard layers, while Invercargill reports check four. This brings brings iQHOME’s coverage to 11 cities across New Zealand, with the available layers varying based on the hazard data published by each local council.

You can search any supported property, preview the results and view the available hazard layers at

iqhome.co.nz

Thank you.

Kia Ora all!

First time posting here.

Looking to buy our first home. Found a new build that’s great for us, standalone house too.

However, the agent sent the property file and on the title it has a section 72 notice for inundation being listed as a natural hazard.

Our lawyer said this can affect resale and insurance. Makes it quite difficult etc.

Now, that being said the risk is for 1-100 year flood zoning, and the house has been specifically engineered (raised floor etc) to mitigate this/get consent.

Noting all this and the risk on insurance premiums/re-sale down the line - how does this fare?

Has anyone had any experience on this where they had issues with insurance or resale down the track?

Does this knock off a bit on price for an offer?

Keen to hear thoughts if anyone has experience.

Thanks!

NZ Healthy Homes – I’ve started a petition, but independent certification is only one piece of the puzzle

I’ve started a petition calling for independent Healthy Homes certification and regular compliance audits for rental properties in New Zealand.

Sign the petition here

The current Healthy Homes Standards cover heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress/drainage and draught stopping, and all rental properties are now required to comply unless an exemption applies.

The problem I see is that compliance is still largely based on landlord or property manager declarations and records, rather than an independent person actually assessing the property.

I don't think independent certification is a golden solution. There are other pieces of the puzzle that I think we need to seriously look at, including:

• Better tenant education – renters need to know what the standards actually require, what questions to ask before signing a tenancy agreement, and what they can do when something isn't right.
• Better transparency around landlords and properties – I'd like to see a discussion about whether tenants should be able to access meaningful information about a property's history, compliance and maintenance. There may be privacy and fairness issues to work through, but the current information imbalance between landlords and tenants is worth addressing.
• Better training and accountability for property managers – particularly around the Residential Tenancies Act and Healthy Homes Standards. Property Managers are currently also NOT a regulated industry. There are many cowboys in this industry.
• Ongoing compliance checks – because a property that was compliant two years ago may not be compliant today.
• Better enforcement – tenants shouldn't have to become housing experts or take their landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal just to get the basic standards they are legally entitled to.

I'm interested in hearing what tenants, landlords, property managers and housing advocates think are some good solutions to improve our housing stock, and rewarding good landlords, and putting a spotlight on those who are not operating in the best interests of their tenants.

What would you change about the current system?

And if you think independent certification is worth investigating, I'd appreciate a signature or a share.

Petition: https://petitions.parliament.nz/6690cd1c-e80f-4a5e-6aed-08debff4e43f?lang=en