According to a Victoria University study published yesterday;
“Kiwi expatriates living overseas who plan to return home will do so because of New Zealand’s lifestyle.”
Utilizing data collected by the expatriate network KEA, and by analyzing a sample group of 13,000+ Kiwis residing living overseas, Dr Lindy Fursman of Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies wanted to explore how many Kiwi ex-pats may decide to come home, and why.
It’s interesting to note a couple of points of the study Dr Fursman discovered.
-> 57% planned a return to New Zealand in the future
-> those with higher qualifications were more likely to be planning to live overseas indefinitely
-> women were more likely to be planning to return than men
I say interesting, keeping in mind the original reason why so many (and by so many I refer to the fact that we Kiwis are the country with the 2nd highest percentage of our resident population overseas at any one time – just pipped by Ireland) Kiwis travel overseas is in usually in search of more favourable/greater work opportunities, generally with associated higher remuneration………..in all offering them ultimately a “perceived” better lifestyle.
In fact the Dr even touched on this point by mentioning;
While previous research has shown that expatriates move because of jobs and opportunities for greater incomes, New Zealand expatriates in Dr Fursman’s study planned to return to take advantage of New Zealand’s “enhanced lifestyle and culture.” Few respondents cited job, economic or income prospects as the reason or driver for coming home.
She concludes the report by making a call that further research needs to be done to ascertain what she calls “ a new measures of lifestyle.”
To explain what it is she means Dr Fursman reinforces her comment by stating;
“Current measures don’t accurately capture the factors that are important to daily living for families with children, for whom lifestyle is the primary driver bringing them home,” says Dr Fursman.
“Given that New Zealand’s competitive advantage internationally is lifestyle, we need to know how we are doing compared with other countries that New Zealand expatriates, and other migrants, favour.”
Is this type of research / info important?
Yes, most definitely.
From a Real Estate perspective I have many times in past posts reiterated my thoughts that two of the biggest primary drivers for the NZ market are Immigration & Unemployment, so no doubt then that this type of research makes a lot of sense.
Sub-Heading: “Don ‘t show / tell them too much” that way they’ll have to phone
Got into quite a discussion with another agent re the age old debate that crops up when you talk about listings & # of photos on the internet.
Things like;
-> Only show a few photos, or even one like the $2.5m home above? so a buyer has to phone
-> Don’t publish the address, so a buyer has to phone
-> Don’t tell them the price, so a buyer has to phone
-> Use weird terms like Deadline Sale, because the general public usually don’t know what you mean, & they will call, etc, etc
This outdated mode of operation seems to be more about teasing potential buyers and they will phone, well come – maybe like in the Field of Dreams.
However I advanced that just like the Field of Dreams, Acre of Diamond, call it what you will, ………..that once you have it built, in todays crowded marketplace, you have to shout from the treetops and direct everyone to somewhere from whence they can view, at least initially, at their own time and place.
Following on from proven overseas experience it certainly seems that the richer any visually exciting photo experience is, home shoppers will be encouraged to view more details.
Crickey according to this March 2010 post on Larry’s blog, the listing agent stated this photo sold his San Clemente listing in 30 minutes, and in interesting circumstances because the buyer had already visited the property prior to seeing the photo!
In the mix it helps not to forget that your intended buyer is many times one half of a couple, and it definitely takes 2 to tango when it comes to buying a house. One buyer may be analytically inclined, whilst their partner may make most of their decisions based on initial visual inclinations. Visual always wins usually.
How can you possibly hope to excite both partners if you have only shown a couple of photos that “you thought” showed the home in its best light.
Worse still, what options are available to you to possibly refresh a listing that’s had little buyer enquiry for a couple weeks?
Take for example the new lifestyle property listing here, it has 20 photos on realestate.co.nz and also as you can see here, another 36 odd at Open2view – all up 56 photos.
Only built in 2008, on 19.9ha, its in a lifestyle rural location, so it needs to assist folk to find it, view it, and then decide. Crucial when you’re not just around the corner.
Eagle eyed readers will note a point of difference in the Open2view photos is the inclusion of a floorplan.
At this stage the representation on realestate.co.nz just depicts that, the actual floorplan.
However if you log onto Open2view and then have a look at the floorplan here, you’ll notice a substantial difference.
Not only the locations inside and outside from where each photo was taken and the corresponding image, but also the position from where the Quicktime Virtual 360° Tours were taken – and by clicking on those icons you’ll be taken to each correspondingly relevant tour.
Tell me that this sort of visually impressive info wouldn’t be compelling to a buyer from out of town or overseas, or a UK returning ex-pat who wants to live in another part of NZ.
Quite frankly a very likely scenario for our region, as we constant get buyers locally who originally grew up in areas further south. In many cases, the big OE “drifted” into a prolonged period outside NZ (remember my earlier stats on this) however ultimately they come back. And in just as many cases because they always dreamed of wanting to live/bring up a family in the Nelson / Marlborough, “the Top of the South” they show interest in that, certainly from an initial online property search perspective.
Now the old timer though this floorplan thingie actually wasn’t a bad idea after all!
Makes you wonder where in their own mind “do they draw the line?” between this new media and what used to be the priority just 10 short years ago.
And what point is there if your potential buyer is in London, or Dubai viewing the property online at a time when you are probably asleep & your mobile turned off.
You mo as well place a banner on the add that says “Overseas Buyers – Email only.”
So at the end of the day we begged to differ in our own opinions…..and it was a river I couldn’t bridge.
New Zealands Department of Internal Affairs has over the weekend placed public notice advertisements in NZ metropolitan dailies to alert recent immigrants to this significant update. (below is from The Press)
From 21 April 2010 the requirements for obtaining a New Zealand citizenship by grant will change, essentially where as you had only to wait three years before applying, after April 21 you will then have to wait 5 years.
If you are an affected person then you have to lodge your application before April 21, otherwise you will miss out.
Here’s the words straight from the relevant page on the Departments website……….;
At the moment, if you received permanent residence or had a successful application accepted by Immigration New Zealand before 21 April 2005, you could be eligible for a grant of citizenship after living in New Zealand for three years.
If you applied for and received permanent residence on or after 21 April 2005, you have to be resident in New Zealand for five years before becoming eligible for a grant of citizenship.
However, from 21 April 2010, everyone will have to be resident for five years before becoming eligible for a grant of citizenship, no matter when they applied for and obtained permanent residence.
That means that if you meet the three-year requirement and don’t lodge an application before 21 April 2010, you will not be eligible until you have lived in New Zealand for five years, not three years.
Also as a handy helper to ascertain whether you are eligible for citizenship, the department offer their Citizenship Online Calculation Tool.
I’ve been asked all month about the rising levels of inventory, its been commented on it many places this past month too, however from a Nelson perspective it was definitely not that noticeable on the ground.
And when I chart the individual Feb 2010 figures, the reason why becomes abundantly clear.
The numbers on the chart equal the “Number of Weeks of UnSold Housing Stock” that was on the market in February.
The Inventory metric will always be heavily influenced by the percentage of sales that takes place in that locality, but nevertheless it is good guidance.
And why is it important.
Well the volume of competition you have makes a huge difference in achieving or bettering asking prices.
Its that demand and supply equation I’ve talked about before.
Most sellers I’ve ever talked to want their own property to stand out from the rest.
To my way of thinking, that time to sell could be maximised when you have less competition, and not when you will have 4 homes in the neighbourhood of exactly the same age, similar style, size of section, etc.
Yet the other school of thought suggests that because their are more competitors on the market, then it brings out more buyers…..think the typical stereotype of the “spring market” here.
However I suggest that a close eye kept on inventory levels in your own region can’t but help in the long run.
If you were not aware, the Australian Govt has been quite generous over recent years in assisting folk, predominantly younger ones, into their first home.
Their main vehicle has been the “First Home Owner Grant” which provides for a lump sum, oftentimes a very decent lump sum of dollars………….indeed a good chunk of the deposit, towards the purchase of same.
In more recent times, this grant accelerated quite considerably if your purchase was a brand new home under the proviso that you were that homes first owner.
Over the last decade there has been some lobbying for the NZ Govt. to adopt a similar stance. (similar to the USA last year their $15,000 helper, stimulus, etc …..well they call it a tax credit when I discussed it here a year ago)
However in sobering news this week from Aussie Home Loans main man, and reported as such by News Corps’ “Herald Sun” yesterday, is the claim that courtesy of this grant, Aussie John is of the opinion that first home buyers may have spent up to $50,000 more than they would ordinarily have done so.
Aussie John should know, after starting out in the 90’s and then riding a couple of cyclical waves, hes in the enviable position that he is still successful** and hasn’t succumbed like many of the so called “successful high fliers” of this past decade.
And just as puzzling and attractive as a hole in the head, you can imagine how happy Aussies & Kiwis are to hear about things that make them pay more for a home…………..especially their first one?
Unfortunately for the doubters, I think Aussie John is on to something, and justifiable in his way of thinking.
There was a monster fear from the Real Estate community in OZ that once the grant ended, a detrimental effect would take place on property prices in its lieu.
However this was an Australian expressed opinion.
Serendipitous is definitely what I’d call it.
CREDIT ABOVE GRAPHIC – Australian Financial Review (AFR)
I think this weeks headline sort of hints about the OZ situation.
History, as far as the “numbers” are concerned, may prove me wrong………..but there are 2 major reasons why particularly in Australia’s case, it may probably do just that.
1] the fact that Australia has recently emerged as one of the world’s strongest economies
AND…………
2] the fact is the stuff that they have……..is the stuff that the rest of the world wants now…..…and is still prepared to pay top dollar for it now in 2010 dollars for future use…….is just so great that it will surely maintain a growth pattern that many other world players would dream of……and in their wildest dreams too.
So it will be interesting to see if, in some pockets of the country, this thus transpires…..but I can just about guarantee you, that any reduction in property prices won’t happen quickly in places like Kalgoorlie, Port Hedland, Weipa or similar industry location towns. My advice……..buy any bargains you see in those same towns……………TOMORROW!
** – successful – hmmm….well he still has that Aussie dream – the multi-million dollar McMansion to call home.
Just in case you missed it a few weeks back, at this months TED2010, in a demo that according to reports, drew gasps from the audience, and afforded the presenter a standing ovation afterwards, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, from Microsoft, demonstrated new augmented-reality mapping technology from his company.
Augmented Reality is very relevant to the future of Real Estate Marketing, I spoke about it here last June as a primer for readers.
Who is Blaise, well he just happens to be the architect of Bing Maps at Microsoft, and is working to build augmented reality into searchable maps.
Watch this and see if you don’t agree.
Certainly is a forerunner of what the agent in 2015 may be showing on his own website, perhaps broadcasting from his Open Day?
Or imagine a setup like this for an on-site auction, would it be helpful if out of town/overseas telephone buyers could see the other bidders?
So if you’re a Kiwi in Dubai, Manchester, New York or Singapore and are investigating what you career options are, if you were to return to New Zealand, then next to Real Estate, this is probably the 2nd most important site to go to for a basic “heads up.”
According to the Press Release;
The new website section, ‘Returning to New Zealand’, provides advice on things such as bringing home non-Kiwi partners and children and tips on dealing with “reverse culture shock”
Ms Kosmala, who is the deputy chief executive of Career Services, commented;
….in December last year, Kiwis returning home outnumbered Kiwis leaving for overseas, according to Statistics New Zealand.
On there you’ll find info like;
if you’re eligible for a benefit /pension when you get home
checklists to prepare before you return home – the documents you’ll need when you get back to New Zealand, as well as background information on the labour market
your career options in New Zealand – gives advice about networking, attending interviews and updating your CV into a NZ style…..and more.
The current Real Estate Agents Act (Professional Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2009 booklet makes a licensee’s duty of care and professional obligation very clear in regards to the subject of disclosure.
Recently in Florida, there has been an example of a disclosure situation on a large scale.
The Florida, Palm Beach Post published an article back in June, 2009 with the heading;
Parents in The Acreage fear possible cancer cluster; state looks at incidence rate
Health officials have confirmed the area has higher than normal rates of brain tumors and cancer among children.
Feb 17th, US CBS affiliate CBS12, started out their report by saying;
Tonight, real estate agents are reacting to the news of a cancer cluster in The Acreage.
Also in the last few days, US Fox TV affiliate WFLX have reported that;
The Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches is watching the cancer cluster situation, and they’ve just come out with a new disclosure form that people will have to sign before they buy or lease a home in The Acreage.
Could this have the potential to affect the price of homes in this nominated zone?
YOUTUBE VIDEO -- Erin Brockovich Press Conference re: The Acreage
Of note in the States, but something we hardly hear about downunder, is something called Radon. (Americas second leading cause of lung cancer) In many parts of the US this is an especially important consideration that stateside home buyers need to be informed / aware of.
Some reports here are also talking about the potential for radium to be in the water.
On the horizon though, I wonder how a situation like this example below would go;
1] agent is told by neighbours / other agents / buyers of some information about a suburb, information which is more in the “rumour” category, not officially published or confirmed data on the area….perhaps they’ve heard it before also from another source
2] agent thinks its fair to not inform buyers of this? Or agent think its fair that he/she does inform buyers of this?
3] local resident hears about this 2nd / 3rd hand and is told that was the reason this particular “informed / info disclosed to” buyer then deciding against purchasing in his/her street.
4] disgruntled local resident decides to proceed further, possibly exploring legal options, as they perceive value to his/her own property has been prejudiced, by nothing more than rumour / hearsay?
With the byline of “find the right neighbourhood – find the right home” this site takes a very different approach to Real Estate search, and one that is indeed fascinating.
How about browsing this way…..
browse by seeing what everyone else is clicking on the most **
or by the most frequently viewed schools, maybe a good one for an executive on job transfer to a new town to check out **
…distressed homes ……”mortgagee type sales” in kiwi speak that is, this type of search could also be quite advantageous to a property investor for example **
or by just the highest price – or perhaps more importantly for many buyers…..the opposite end of the spectrum….the lowest prices in the country for example **
or by neighbourhoods, after all it is this sites catchline/motto. **
Would kiwi searchers take to this, think that some of these would be a good idea?
The site I am talking about above is called Cyberhomes.com. +++
They also feature one of my favourites, “heatmaps.”
What are heatmaps?
Heatmaps, or thematic layer maps -are data overlays that are overlaid on a map or satellite view of an area to illustrate the relationship visually.
Just as some people are “numbers” orientated, many others are visually activated.
Heatmaps aid visual clarity enormously.
I find them very important for visual spotting of trends / information that a mere list or graph cannot. They are used famously in the share-market.
One other thing I do like as a real estate browser is this, the ability to create your own homepage.
Why?
Well because it makes a lot of sense to have all your favourite searches, distressed/mortgagee sales, relevant real estate browsing all on the one dashboard screen, set-up for a speedy quick once over glance.
And having the ability to add or remove different sections will help to make your ongoing real estate search so much more efficient …….fruitful I’d say.
Bit of a co-incidence here, but I’ve just noticed McGraths too, have a similar feature, as arrowed above.
Only thing is, unlike realestate.co.nz, McGraths don’t actually show or tell you the number of visitors.
To me that’s necessary from a transparency point of view, and like you can on realesatate.co.nz, it would be beneficial to see what the daily makeup is, and where those visitors come from. In that case, I think the counter on realestate.co.nz, clickable if you weren’t already aware, is a big step up in comparision.
I should mention I note another Auckland website have added a small link on their sidebar as seen above for a “1 click” through to view Mortgagee sales. Speeds the process up doesn’t it, when its a trending search I’d say?
You mightn’t think a list of most popular homes viewed would be important?
However when placed in the context of seeing that same list of data, visually……….
MAP CREDIT – Google
…….the picture is a lot clearer.
Were you to be a seller looking at placing your home on the market, and were still undecided about what time of year/season to do so, then a look at a map like this showing the most popular properties are actually in your immediate neighbourhood could assist you greatly in making up your mind. At least the data is telling you where the buyer activity is right now.
So overall, it looks like searching for real estate will get better.
** one issue I see is that in some of these based on clicks/views models you would need some form of protection to reduce the possibility of fraud, perhaps only registering one click per day/per IP address or so…..that way hopefully discouraging a home owner from artificially inflating the amount of clicks their home registers, or even to the extent that a school may get all pupils to click once from their school / home pc’s on that school – again potential erroneously inflating its rating.
+++ – problems they have – seems to be a few errors on the site today – but the concept is great.
Very refreshing for a Real Estate homepage in Oceania, and in my last post I’d asked…………….
Were there are a couple of “got ya’s” here that an Kiwi or Aussie can deny? The term OE springs to mind.
Studies still show, that second to Ireland, Kiwis presently have the highest percentage of their residential population offshore.
That’s probably not exactly dissimilar to the Aussie situation either.
So to my way of thinking, most anyone downunder would have an instant recognition factor with the above screenshot?
There must be hundreds if not thousands of ex-pats (in a born in NZ sense) that are residing in the UK …….for Aussie’s …….multiply that even more.
Frankly because the site is not trying to be a Yahoo or Google to everyone they intelligently only have one section that “moves” or changes.
There’s enough info / colour on the landing page to keep a browser there for 10 seconds, which is all it takes before that image section rotates to ask a different emotional question?
And because it seems to move/change so often a browsers eyes can’t help but be drawn to it, It wouldn’t surprise me if someone in Johns web team has studied this eye movement/page recognition flow either.
IMAGE CREDIT -google.com
Crucially it’s not even in the top left of your screen, like everyone says it should be…..and that’s great because that’s what everyone else is doing………(remember my post a short time ago about how incredibly successful some contrarian believers have been) so you land on CNN, BBC, ABC News, Yahoo-Xtra……..etc ………….you start to get attuned to that expectation that all the action happens in the top left hand side of your browser page……and then this site has the action, in the top right hand side.
What’s neat here is that it doesn’t really matter which of these icons/lifestyle patterns you click on, you’re taken to the next panel/page………..and in every case you’re always taken to the exactly same Page 1.
This one…….
Frankly no browser will even know any different, because I suspect only 2-5% may backtrack anyway.
Check out the options available……and just for a moment think about it…………would you be tempted to click on one of these……..or would you still want to fill out 3-4-5 boxes and 4 drop down categories to your search for an ideal property.
To be frank ….you probably would click on one of these wouldn’t you?
If for nothing other than to see what the result is. …… just “one click” away?
Which brings me another site that offered another enlightening approach to Real Estate Search……
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