Timing to buy in New Zealand

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Europeans, Americans and Japanese will love Queentown, NZ...well maybe you will hate the fact that there are already a lot of you already here. Its enough to ruin a place. :)

The good news is that you have a good reason to come to the land of 'milk and honey'.....your currencies are being debased faster than you can say 'Holy cow'. This is just one appealing aspect about NZ. It is a relatively hard currency.....and whilst income growth here is sluggish, that will change in i'd say around 5-10 years for a number of reasons related to resource development, but also its services-related potential. Yes, NZ is going to find a place in the business outsourcing arena, though it will have to improve its accent and telephony infrastructure. In the meantime, expect a currency gap to widen with Australia.

NZ does appeal. The population is flat...but that will change. This is why I think buying in 3-5 years time makes a lot of sense. All the better if you can debt leverage the property and perhaps spend your 'quiet' summers near before you retire here. Why? Well, summer is quiet here. You just have to decide if you like winter here. Given you are coming from Europe, Japan or the USA, you will struggle less with that question that if you are coming from Australia.

In 10 years, I think NZ's fortunes will turn around. I expect some major resource developments which are going to see a major change in the terms of trade, business investment, population retention, and currency ascension. Yep, and some government will take all the credit...when it was all me. Yes me. I was the one who pulled the lever first. I'm holding the smoking gun!

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Queenstown - magical place

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I was speaking to an Australian today...if you read this....sorry for cutting you off. I was tinkering around with Google at the time.

Anyway, there are a great number of Australians showing interest in NZ. I understand the appeal, but I must make the point that you don't know the place until you live here. I have lived here two years, and my advice is....do your research. Commonsense I know. There are things you will need to know. I think for most people the Queenstown region offers the greatest appeal even if you only buy an investment property here. The appeal might wear off if you experience a winter here....but then some of you like the snow.

I personally believe Queenstown airport will be used for domestic flights in future, and that there will be a centralised airport built around Gore to service Dunedin, Invercargill, Wanaka and Queenstown. These three centres are a significant distance from Christchurch, so they need a new airport. Queenstown is 6.5 hours from Christchurch. This area has a lot of appeal. The people here are more international, the shops and service are better. The rest of NZ (apart from Auckland) is held in a cultural vortex. Progressive minds leave....retirees enter and keep to themselves. Its a beautiful country...but like Australia it is dominated by idiots. I prefer to live in Japan where they are all saints because I don't understand them. You can however etch out your own existence here. There are plenty of bars, restaurants, walks, rides to provide a superficial and amusement-filled life. The infrequent gratuity goes a long way... and it will sustain you for a week of solitude. Sounds like paradise to me. :)

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

New Zealanders support current voting system

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New Zealanders are a flawed people. There first mistake is finding any utility in democracy. Despite that, they have the good sense to see value in retaining the MMP voting system. The appeal of this system is that it gives new, emerging parties a greater chance of being elected, and finding representation....if that is a good thing. It is good in one respect - it offers the prospect of greater competition. The contemporary two-party system is not competitive....least of all when politicians are getting a lifetime pension. There is considerable incentive for the parties to preserve this entrenched system, so expect the major parties to form coalitions in order to retain their 'relevance'.

Clearly the problems in the ACT Party did not change their view of the MMP.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Safety for tourists in NZ and Australia

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It is not just me, but clearly others have noted a trend for foreigners to die in NZ. There are two reasons:

1. Some locals are just not happy that their country is seemingly being overrun by foreigners.

2. There are a lot of foreigners driving on unsafe rural roads, engaging in unsafe 'extreme' sports.

NZ is actually a surprisingly unsafe country. There is a lot of domestic violence. One gets the sense that there is a lot of tough love, that people suffer a great deal of psychological repression, and on occasion they just explode. Whether it is the tourist who gets shot at, or burned to death in his campervan, you are advised to keep a low profile in NZ. The problem of course is that 'isolated' areas are often more sensitive to your presence than others. i.e. If there is no local business in town making money from you, expect that there will little empathy for you.

Interested in how many foreigners are dying in NZ - apparently its around 2000 for the last 10 years. Wow, that is 200 per year. I might add that there was a period in Australia, where I was inclined to feel that there was some racially-inspired attacks on foreigners, whether it was the killing of a Korean or Indian man, often taxi drivers, or the rape of a Japanese tourist in some resort town, or the knifing of some European backpackers.

There is a lot of bad press in NZ. Though I must say, living outside of Australia, matters seem to have deteriorated there as well. NZ is definitely worse.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

The land of milk and honey

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NZ - read it and weep - or join the rush....but don't trip over your mates.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

Mobile broadband coverage in NZ

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Thinking about getting mobile broadband in NZ. You might want to check out the following map from Telecom NZ. I am not sure whether this inter-connects with Vodafone's network, so you might want to look at their coverage too. I think they are completely separate.

It is noteworthy however that coverage declines significantly in bad weather, or along the coast, so you might want to look at a fixed point broadband to the door.

I would suggest that mobile coverage is not so much the issue, as the expense of it. The capacity available for mobile broadband is highly restrictive (i.e. expensive). So the prospects of working from a campervan might be just a dream at this point....at least in NZ.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com

What NZ needs to do to become viable

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NZ is currently in pretty poor financial straits, however it has a great future. The nature of its mismanagement is similar to other countries, though its solution ought to be a little different. The principle problem in NZ is:

1. Low savings - The solution would be to make the 'economic surplus' discretionary is employers can reduce pay in tough times; whilst increasing savings by getting NZ'ers spending less. The amazing thing is that we are all worried about 'the levels of consumption' and greenhouse, yet a pure capitalist economy would resolve these issues, and create jobs at the same time. i.e. The 'mixed economy' is bad for the environment.

2. Low value work - By giving companies the discretion to lower wages, i.e. to offer surplus as a bonus, like in Japan, companies have an incentive to absorb the surplus labour which would about buoy wage levels, as well as attract new investment. NZ has to be competitive to overcome its disadvantages.

3. Inefficient and corrupt/extortionate market structures - There are two many extortionate market regimes in NZ. The worst is the building trade, where tradesmen are able to recoup the savings for materials purchased for the benefit of clients, then mark those products up to the client. They then work 3 days a week. The lack of competition in the building industry is part of the problem.

4. Extortion from government, i.e. Taxation is coercion. In this area, the NZ is no worse, and a little bit better than most governments. It has punitive fine policies, but not as aggressive as the USA or Australia. Local government has a strong welfare element.

NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Japan Foreclosed Guide

Author Andrew Sheldon| Applied Critical Thinking | www.SheldonThinks.com