And just like that…welcome to August! We are 58% through the year or perhaps, relating to warmer weather, 145 days to Christmas – eek!

We have a shift of focus as we come to the end of July and into August.  Our student portfolio kicks into gear as we hold open homes, select tenants and get tenancies sorted for the 2022 Student Year.  Being landlords ourselves and knowing how this particular type of investment works, has been a key fundamental in letting and ensuring these properties perform the best they possibly can.

We have a long-standing good relationship with the Canterbury University Students Association (UCSA), advertising in the free to students fortnightly campus magazine (Canta), attending campus expos on flatting, offering Flatting 101 advice as needed and keeping our Facebook student flatting page updated.  With students churning through the campus every three years on average it’s important to stay in front.

This year we have experienced the most interest in “Student Properties” than we have seen in the last four years.  The word on the street is that enrolments at UC (University of Canterbury) are forecasted to be higher for 2022 than we have had for a long time.  47, that is the largest number of “groups” we had registered to view just one of our student properties.  Fair to say, that one let pretty promptly.

Christchurch has become a very cool place to live. The city has had an explosion of fun new bars, pubs and restaurants and with great cycle lanes and major improvements to the university campus.  With this big influx of young people, they all need somewhere to live! If you want to know more about how student flats work and how you can rent your property to this growing market, give us a call.  

This year we’ve seen the traditional winter slow down of properties available to rent.  We currently only have 0.9% of our portfolio available.  I read this morning that the number of houses for sale nationwide is at a 14-year low, and the average asking price at an all-time high.  Funny how supply and demand has that effect.  Canterbury is not immune to that with just under 50% less listings than this time last year.

As for rental properties, Christchurch is still down 260 properties on what would be the “norm” for us.  I hear around the traps that there are a few owners selling to capitalise on the current market but data would suggest that it’s not done yet.  Christchurch is still significantly undervalued compared to “other” main centres.  How do I know this, my phone rings all day with out of town investors completing their due diligence on investment properties they see as great buying.

New results from surveys by Tony Alexander show just what property investors are really thinking. Five months have now gone by since the Reserve Bank nudged banks into restoring loan to value ratio (LVR) rules, and four months have passed since the surprise changes to interest tax deductibility were announced. Tony has proof of a disconnect between what investors said they would do late in March and still say they will do, and what they actually plan for their portfolios. For young buyers this is bad news. There is no wave of investment property coming onto the market.

With owners exiting the market and those properties no longer being available to the rental pool, the supply of available rentals takes a hit and that fuels demand.  Demand together with increased costs drive rents upwards.  Long term investors know this cycle and there is always some good with the bad.

We truly appreciate your business and the team and I are always just a phone call away.  We are always available for a free chat and are happy to share our experience and knowledge wherever we can be helpful.