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Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 39

“Flippers” are back in the property market. So, what are flippers and why are they back? A flipper is someone who buys, renovates and on-sells a property for a profit. Flipping is a form of property trading, as opposed to property investment, which is for the long term. Some of the conditions making flipping more attractive in the current climate include the lower interest rate environment, plenty of property stock on the market and reduced prices.We recently came across a situation where a ...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 38

Historically, in a low-interest rate environment, you could reasonably predict this would lead to an increase in property prices — but that hasn’t been the case recently. Why is that? A few possible factors could be at play, including the cost of living still being relatively high, a period of population stagnation, and ongoing uncertainty in international markets. There may also be a significant number of people still on high interest rates, waiting for the bottom of the market before refix...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 37

Private residential property investors used to have a 120-day timeframe to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards when they purchased a new property that wasn’t up to standard. When I recently purchased a rental property from a homeowner, I found out this no longer applied and that the property must comply with the standards by 1st July 2025. This may become a real problem for some property investors trying to get the necessary work done the closer we get to that date. It may also mean that p...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 36

Confidence appears to be returning to both the local and national property market. I find this interesting given some of the headwinds, such as the current labour market and the trade wars going on overseas, to name a couple. The one silver lining for property investors in all this uncertainty is the drop in interest rates, with sub-5% rates now the norm. Couple this with the fact that from 1st April 2025, property investors are allowed to claim 100% of their mortgage interest, and you can begin...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 35

Did you know there has been a change to the granny flat rules? As a refresher, the new law coming into force in 2026 allows a granny flat to be built without a building consent. Now, a dwelling up to 70 square metres will be able to be built, when this was previously 60 square metres. Whilst not a huge change, it will possibly now enable a two-bedroom dwelling to be built where only a one-bedroom dwelling was possible prior to that.In the last issue, I touched upon some issues to consider when l...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 34

At present, the New Zealand property market has the highest number of listings in 10 years, and properties in some price brackets are taking longer to sell. If you have a property that has been on the market for more than a month, most real estate agents will likely suggest a price reduction. However, there are other strategies to consider, such as changing the pricing method, ensuring your property is well-presented for open homes, reviewing the timing and days of open homes, increasing social ...

Post-31 March checklist: Get your tax returns ready

Here’s what you need to do: Gather all financial documents: receipts, invoices, bank statements. Reconcile transactions in your accounting system and check for errors. Review outstanding debts and overdue payments. Take stock of inventory and reconcile records. Provide loan & credit card statements (1/4/24 – 31/3/25). Send bank statements showing the closing balance as of 31 March 2025. If you have any unpaid sales invoices that won’t be paid (“bad debts”), let us know in your ann...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 33

When recently viewing photos of a local property on the market, I saw photos of the real estate agents sitting down at the property having a cuppa! I’ve seen a lot in real estate over the years, including real estate agents putting photos of their brand-new luxury cars in the advertising, but nothing quite like this. It made me think how this may be portrayed by not only prospective buyers but also property owners looking at who they can use to sell their property in the future.If you’re a s...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 32

🏠 Every day, there seems to be another headline of a bank lowering their interest rates. Now could be the best time to refinance any high interest lending you have to not only take advantage of lower repayments but lock in great rates for the next couple of years. Like the property cycle, interest rates also have their cycle, and we may be coming to the end of the current cycle.🏠 Have you heard about the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan? Friends of ours recently purchased their first home utili...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 31

Last week we saw the first bank offer a sub-5% mortgage rate, with Westpac offering a 4.99% fixed rate for 3 years. The big question will be whether this will be matched by other banks and whether it was in anticipation of a reduction in the official cash rate this week? Regardless, this must be tempting for a lot of borrowers refinancing or even looking to refinance. A lot of people have a perception that having boarders, homestay students, and flatmates won’t incur an income tax liability f...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 30

Are you currently only using one lender for your rental property borrowing and looking to grow your portfolio? Using more than one lender or “split banking” may be worthwhile exploring. Whilst it does add another layer of complexity, it can have some advantages. It can provide more lending options if one bank says no, and by not having all your properties cross-collateralised with one lender, you may be able to keep some of the proceeds from a property sale.The first Reserve Bank's official ...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 29

Weatherside cladding on properties can put a lot of prospective buyers off. I recently viewed a 2-bedroom leasehold unit with weatherside cladding that had been on the market for 9 months. So, what’s all the fuss about? Weatherside is the brand name of a cladding product made from wood and glue in the 1970s and 1980s. If well maintained there is nothing wrong with the product. However, if chips and cracks appear and/or painting isn’t kept up-to date moisture ingress will make the boards swel...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 28

Here are some ideas to consider as you assess your property investments and prepare for the future.Review any unfinished or outstanding projects from 2024Assess the financial performance of each of your rental propertiesMake a list of new projects with accompanying action plansIdentify properties that require maintenance in the near futureConsider whether you would like to purchase another propertyConsider whether you would like to sell a propertyThink about getting your finances in order to obt...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 27

Investors are definitely back and taking action in the Hawke’s Bay property market. What’s been the driving force behind this? For an investor, it’s all about whether the numbers stack up. The IRD's kicked it off with changes to the Brightline Test and the interest deductibility rules. Prices have since bottomed out and the Reserve Bank is finally coming to the party, reducing interest rates.Most of us use free online valuations such as OneRoof, QV, or homes.co.nz to get a rough estimate ...

Don't get caught in the holiday chaos

The end of 2024 is just around the corner which means the end of the financial year is also fast approaching. Now is a good time to get organised for March 2025. There are a few simple steps you can take now to make the next few months smoother. Gather all your financial documents, including receipts, invoices, and bank statements.Ensure all your transactions are reconciled, and there are no errors or discrepancies in your financial statements.Review your accounts and identify any outstanding de...

Vaughan Walsh receives Fellowship FCA Designation

We’re proud to share that last week our very own Vaughan Walsh was awarded a Fellowship FCA Designation by the Council of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Vaughan was one of eight members awarded a Fellowship, which is a peer-to-peer recognition of a member’s career achievements and outstanding contribution to the profession of accountancy. Everyone who has worked with Vaughan knows how well-deserved this recognition is and we’re so proud of him. Ngā mihi!...

MyIR temporary shutdown

Heads up: Inland Revenue is running a planned disaster recovery test over two weekends in November when some of its online services will not be available, including myIR.The testing will happen on:Saturday 16 November from 3pm until 9am Sunday 17 NovemberSaturday 23 November from 3pm until 9am Sunday 24 NovemberServices that will not be available during testing are myIR, gateway services and Inland Revenue's self-service phone line....

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 24

Most people have heard of a reverse mortgage, but a home reversion scheme isn’t something a lot of people know much about. A home reversion scheme allows a homeowner to sell part of their property in exchange for a lump sum or regular payments. Some of the benefits include enjoying a more comfortable retirement, the ability to pay for ongoing home maintenance costs, still being able to share in the property value increases, and no interest payments (there is no lending). Like everything, ther...

Inland Revenue staff are making unannounced visits

The businesses that will be visited have been identified from the list of nearly 7,000 anonymous tip offs IR receives each year. Businesses with goods and services of lower price points and businesses that handle significant amounts of cash are more at risk of these visits. If you want to make sure your books are in order, contact us today. ...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 23

Did you know Hawke’s Bay was one of five regions where property sales activity increased in September 2024? The sales count of 221 was the highest since November 2020 and was up 2.3% on August 2024 and a whopping 26.3% on September 2023. The biggest driver has undoubtedly been the reduction in interest rates but also more favourable tax policies starting to kick in.I recently came across a company that already owned several residential rental properties and recently added a commercial property...

Capital gains tax is back on the agenda

Capital gains tax could be back on Inland Revenue’s agenda again, as it’s consulting on the future of the tax system as part of its next long-term insights briefing to the ministers of revenue and finance. IR says it wants to open discussions on the challenges the tax system faces and possible options to address them. Labour says it is looking at its tax policy and is considering capital gains, wealth or capital income taxes. If you’d like to discuss how current tax rules apply to your ass...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 22

1. Capital gains tax has reared its head again following a media interview with the CEO of ANZ. Speaking with some property investor colleagues over the weekend we all agreed it is just a matter of time before some form of comprehensive capital tax was implemented. It raises some interesting questions such as what assets it would apply to, would the family home be taxed, would it be retrospective, what other options to collect taxes could be considered and the fairness of people’s differing si...

A friendly reminder from us

If you have staff leaving your company, please remember to cancel their myIR access. Regularly reviewing your agency myIR logons is an important step in preventing former employees from accessing sensitive information. Owners and administrators can manage myIR logons and access. Walsh & Associates will never ask for your passwords regarding your myIR logins....

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 21

1. IRD was allocated $29 million in the 2024 Budget for compliance, targeting those people who have not met their tax obligations. So, do you have audit insurance to protect you? Audit insurance is an insurance product that covers professional fees incurred if IRD enquires about returns filed or audit your business.Compliance with property tax laws is becoming more complex by the day. The costs of accounting and tax advice to respond to IRD can mount up quickly. If you don’t already have cover...

Eagle Eye Property Insights - Issue 20

1. “Excess rental deductions” in your income tax return, what are they? They are a net loss from your rental property. In the 2020 income tax year the government introduced ring-fencing rules stopping property investors from offsetting a loss on their property against their personal income. Excess rental deductions are carried forward to the next income tax year. They can be used to offset future rental profits before income tax will need to be paid. What most people don’t know is that the...