Obviously this is a great topic to focus on because there is a whole lot of misunderstanding, myths and untruths about the property investment market and it is easy to make bold statements like “the property market due to crash because of the budget”…. what a load of old bollocks.

Yes there will be some people who will struggle with keeping their investment property because the ability to claim depreciation put some money back into their pocket which allowed them to pay the mortgage. Without this injection of cash from the government these folks will not be able to maintain the mortgage and will need to sell. That’s a fact. However think about this…will the small numbers of people (and I mean relative to the overall property market) who must sell be enough to cause the Real Estate Market to tumble? I don’t think so…..

Read the rest of the post here at NZPIS.CO.NZ/The-Day-After

I believe house prices, in the main centres, will continue to appreciate, especially Auckland which has already started to occur. This is due both to supply and demand. There are less new dwellings becoming available as there are fewer being built (especially in the apartment market), demand is increasing due to higher immigration figures, more Kiwis returning home and a natural population increase.

Interest rates will go up but in the second part of the year only as the Reserve Bank honors it’s commitment to the nation when it said it would keep rates low. The amount they go up all depends on the recovery happening, how strong it is and if unemployment is starting to fall.

Finance will be difficult to obtain for self employed, businesses and construction projects due to the demise of virtually all second tier lenders. This is a serious issue for the country and will hinder our future growth.

Each month the international credit crisis moves further into the background and hopefully next year it can be consigned to part of global economic history.