Property

The following is a selection of articles mainly from January 2005 to the present. To explore this topic in more depth and access earlier columns, please use the search box.

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Articles

NZ Herald April 5 2008

Q&As: The best KiwiSaver fund for a 23-year-old depends on her house-buying plans.
Angry Blue Chip investor muddles my opinion with a reader's opinion.
A reader suggests why online tax payments sometimes go wrong.

NZ Herald March 29 2008

Q&As: Do Blue Chip, finance company and other investment victims deserve what's happened?
2 Q&As on "nicer" ways to invest than rental property.
Electronic tax payment problems not common.

NZ Herald February 23 2008

Q&As: A middle-of-nowhere section might not be the best choice for a 25-year-old's savings while he studies.
Have delays in processing KiwiSaver contributions hurt savers in the recent tumultuous markets?
How to top up your KiwiSaver contributions so you get the full tax credit.

NZ Herald December 8 2007

Q&As: Why 20 shares are much better than two.
Reader claims diversification is not a great idea. I disagree.
Is land a lower risk investment than a share fund?

Syndicated column November 13 2007: Preparing for a possible property price plunge

The volume of house sales is slowing. Houses are taking longer to sell. And some apartment prices are falling. What if house prices are next to fall?

NZ Herald November 10 2007

Q&As: Is now a good time for a 36-year-old to buy a house? And if so, should it be a bigger house, so she can take in tenants?
Four Q&As on how KiwiSaver works - or doesn't work - for those living overseas or planning to live overseas.

NZ Herald May 26 2007

Q&As: The inter-generation battle rages on in six Q&As, and we also get several readers' ideas on how Gen Xers can cope with high house prices.
Succinct advice from a reader's Dad who suffered in the Depression.

NZ Herald May 12 2007

Q&As: Three readers defend baby boomers and suggest how today's young could afford to buy homes.
A Generation Xer speaks up for her generation.
A reader worries that apartments may lose value.

NZ Herald May 5 2007

Q&As: Auckland houses may be unaffordable, but apartments aren't.
One man is happy with is inexpensive home.
Homeowner feels anything but smug about being in the housing market.
War is declared between the baby boomers and the younger generation.
Last time New Zealand tried to control rents, it was disastrous.

NZ Herald April 28 2007

Q&As: Would-be homeowners may need to lower their standards a bit - with some help from Monty Python.
Inflation hits property at least as much as share funds.
Californian astounded by our "real estate mania".

NZ Herald April 7 2007

Q&As: Rent control would do more harm than good.
The cost of staying out of the housing market.
Reader insists it's worthwhile to try to time foreign exchange movements. It's all his!

Syndicated column April 17 2007: Obsessed with property? Not us

New Zealanders are not as property mad - or as mortgage mad - as we've been led to believe, recent research shows.

NZ Herald April 14 2007

Q&As: A tax on house sales, to subsidise first home owners, is a lovely idea that wouldn't work.
Renting and saving elsewhere can leave you better off than home ownership.
Semi-retired couple who sold their home and rent are probably doing fine.

NZ Herald March 31 2007

Q&As: Have you got what it takes to borrow to invest in a share fund?
How frequent traders in international shares will be taxed under the new rules.
How Inland Revenue might catch property traders.

NZ Herald March 17 2007

Q&As: Landlords, beware! Changes being considered in rental property taxation.
Reader feels unfairly punished by Reserve Bank's interest rate hike.
The word "secured" in a debenture ad is hardly a warning sign. The company is just following the law.

NZ Herald February 10 2007

Q&As: The warning signs in investment ads
Should we adjust investment returns to allow for inflation?
How best to assess long-term returns on shares and property
How to tell if an Australian company qualifies for the tax exemption

NZ Herald December 9 2006

Money column for December 9, 2006

Win a ticket to a seminar
Q&As: Should retired couple invest in a commercial property? Why take on that risk?
Can we predict NZ dollar movements?
When is it best to change money from US to NZ currency.
A US website that evaluates international charities.
Yet another charity offers a Christmas gift programme.

NZ Herald November 4 2006

Q&As: Two on why many rental property investors should pay tax on their gains when they sell. It's the law!
How to teach teens about budgeting.
Allowing for tax when calculating returns on term deposits.

NZ Herald October 28 2006

Q&As: A reader finds a flaw in my "avoid the rear-view mirror" argument. Or does he?

Would NZ's tax revenue actually increase if we all invested offshore?
Inland Revenue says it can't fix everything at once.

Syndicated column October 10 2006: Moving money across the globe is a risky tactic

The situation of a reader may not seem relevant to many others. But there are lessons here for practically everyone.

NZ Herald March 18 2006

Q&As: Man panicked and bailed out of share fund. No!
Real Estate Institute denies that it's hard to buy a house in NZ.

NZ Herald February 25 2006

Q&As: Is compounding interest over-rated?
Credit cards v eftpos.
How long is long-term? Returns on different assets.

NZ Herald February 4 2006

Q&As: Man who has made $3 million from shares.
How much risk for a 53-year-old?
How good is advice from banks?

NZ Herald January 28 2006

Q&As: 27-year-old overseas doesn't need more than 4 rentals in NZ.
Should more conservative 26-year-old get revolving credit mortgage?

Syndicated column January 17 2006: Readers rally to back houses

It always happens. Whenever I write about investing in houses and shares in the same column, people say I'm unfairly negative about houses.

In my final column last year, I wrote that the rise in house prices over the previous year was slower than the rise in: New Zealand shares, hedged overseas shares and unhedged overseas shares, all including dividends. That surprised me, and I thought it might surprise you.

NZ Herald January 14 2006

Q&As: Should man, 53, go with bank and seminar rental recommendation?
Young couple ponder buying share of family farm.
should Mary answer all readers' letters?

NZ Herald November 19 2005

Q&As: How well do share funds perform?
Comparison of investment performances.

NZ Herald November 12 2005

Q&As: The pros and cons of self employment and income splitting.
Comparing shares with property is tricky.
How movements in the dollar affect investment in international share funds.

NZ Herald September 10 2005

Q&As: How to go about investing your student loan.
How to find rating information on finance companies.

Syndicated column August 23 2005: Is it dumb to diversify shares or property?

Diversification is not all it's cracked up to be, according to a man who read my last column, which praised the spreading-your-risk idea.

"Bill Gates didn't diverse much, and it didn't do him much harm," he writes. "The fact remains that the richest people on the planet have become that way because they haven't diversified.

Syndicated column August 9 2005: One bad apple - New Zealanders are bad at diversifying

Most New Zealand shareholders are frighteningly undiversified. About 24 per cent of share investors own shares in just one company, and another 36 per cent hold shares in two to five companies, according to recent research by the stock exchange, NZX, and sharebrokers ABN AMRO Craigs.

Why does it matter? Two reasons:

NZ Herald June 18 2005

Q&As: When does tax on capital gains apply to share investors?
When can share investors deduct newspapers and investment reports?
Are shops allowed to charge more if you use a Visa card?
The role of luck in house price rises.

NZ Herald June 4 2005

Q&As: 2 on renting v home ownership - including the psychology of the choice.
The professor who set last week's question gives me a grade, and notes that house prices have fallen lots elsewhere.

NZ Herald May 28 2005

Q&A: Is home ownership always good?

Syndicated column April 19 2006: The inherent differences between property and share investments

There's a fundamental difference between investing in shares and property, a reader says in an email.

"With a stock there is always the risk of bankruptcy of the entity you invest in, and the investment you make becoming worthless," he writes.

NZ Herald April 2 2005

Q&As: Different banks' policies on early repayment of fixed mortgages.
The man in last week's Q&A could stick with properties.

NZ Herald March 26 2005

Q&As: Man in mid 50s can afford to drop out - but what about emotionally?
Is reader silly to stick with renting?

NZ Herald January 22 2005

Q&As: Man with many rental properties does it the right way.
Why do economists bother to make foreign exchange forecasts that are often wrong?

Holm Truths autumn 03

Emotions and investing: The way we feel affects our investing in ways we are not aware of

Also in this issue: Great Debate - Term deposits v corporate bonds

Holm Truths summer 02-03

Lessons from past mislead: Investing in what did well last year, or selling what did badly, usually does more harm than good

Also in this issue: Great Debate - Low v high insurance excesses

Holm Truths winter 01

Free lunch a rewarding spread: It's wise to spread your investment money around

Also in this issue: Great Debate - Shares v share funds

Holm Truths autumn 01

Terms of enrichment: How long you want to tie up your money affects what you invest in.

Also in this issue: Great Debate - Shares v rental property