Capital city: Wellington
Languages: English (official)
Population: Abt. 4.5 million
Area: 263,310 Sq km
GDP per capita: 36,254 in 2011
GDP current US$: 160 in 2011
Ease of Business Ranking: 3 in 2013
New Zealand Housing Situation and Market Overview Case Study
New Zealand is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises of two islands namely South Island and North Island, and many smaller islands. It is located east of Australia. Markets for New Zealand's agricultural exports have diversified greatly since the 1970s.
Wool once dominant exports have been overtaken by dairy products, meat, and recently wine. Tourism supports ten percent of the total workforce; service sector is the largest sector in the country's economy, followed by manufacturing, construction, farming and raw material extraction. New Zealand depends very heavily on agriculture, and this makes them open to international commodity prices and economic slowdowns. The major exports are fishing, fruits, agriculture, wine and mining, along with forestry and export of wool.
Whether one is looking to buy or to rent, the choices in New Zealand are abundant. There are various choices offered to suit your lifestyle, be it outdoor lifestyle, family home or just a place in the city. One can choose from suburban living, rural living or sophisticated home choices in the heart of the city.
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Owning your own home is part of the Kiwi dream. There are many different price points available. Prices can vary vastly from district to district or from town to town. As many want to own their own home, real estate can prove to be quite higher than normally expected.
House sales continue to improve, with volumes last month reaching their highest monthly level since the heyday of the market in 2007, according to the latest Real Estate Institute (REINZ) figures. REINZ said 8128 houses sold in March, up 23 per cent on February and 11 per cent on the same month last year. It was the best monthly performance since May 2007.
Key drivers were the housing-short Auckland and Christchurch markets, which helped send the national median house price up 8.1 per cent to a new record of $400,000. New record median prices were also set in Auckland ($562,000, up 13 per cent on a year ago) and Canterbury/Westland ($359,000, up 12 per cent). House prices had increased 1.3 per cent over the past three months and 6.5 per cent over the past year nationally, it said. Values across Auckland were still increasing - up 11 per cent over the past year with the North Shore seeing the greatest increase at 11.6 per cent.