Property is still the key foundation to your wealth plan.

Your owner-occupied home has been the foundation of New Zealanders’ finance since the New Zealand Company started their “theft and sell” business (check any New Zealand colonial historical record) way back in the day. Not a great start to a blog, but true, nevertheless.

Despite the declines we have seen over the last 12 months, over time NZ property has continued to increase in value, and double every 10 years.

We, as kiwis, are fixated with it, and that will be the truth for a long time yet.

Even if this was not the case, having a place to call your own with somewhere for your kids to call home (if that is in your list of dreams,) is a benefit that is more than financial.

My personal upbringing was one where the houses I grew up in (all ten of them) were owned by the organisation my parents worked for. When I became a mortgage broker, my early years were spent helping many people in the same organisation to buy their own homes. The bit I liked about this the best was the total lift in their whole being, when they had somewhere of their own. It gave them ability to have agency and control over their destiny. Sounds a little dramatic but again, true.

I do not know anyone personally in this country who has not grown their financial balance without owning their own home and and/or investment property.

Property is a basic building block of financial independence in Aotearoa.

Basic, but incredibly effective. Velocity Financial’s key starting point for all our clients is focused on this essential building block. Your own home is personal to you, but the rules still stay true. If possible, buy stand-alone houses before town houses, and then town houses before apartments.

Make sure its insurable over the long term, and do not buy anything that is too weird, as you will be selling it again, at some stage.

Yes, investment property is what you should have as part of a balanced portfolio. It is something you buy with other people's money (i.e., the Bank's) and, bought well, you pay for it with other people's money (i.e., rent). Bought well, being the key statement here. How many investment properties you should own is a conversation between you and your financial adviser.

It has been a very weird NZ summer and Houses/Homes/Accommodation is what all the headlines are about.  Our thoughts are absolutely with those that have been affected by the recent events, and we know that there will be more to come.

Graham.

Graham Goodisson (FSP95428) is a Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial (FSP95466). No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. Please see Graham’s disclosure statement on our website.

About Graham

Hi there, I’m Graham and I started Velocity Financial nearly 20 years ago. I had for many years been running youth development programmes for The Salvation Army and I liked the idea of continuing to help people thrive in other areas of their lives. It started with helping first home buyers, and I now work mostly with business owners. This is around planning, lending, and managing risk for them and their staff. I’m passionate about community and connecting those in need with opportunity. I’ve been very privileged to do this in my previous career, now in my business and also for 20 years as a Trustee of the Te Aro Health Clinic. Our clinic delivers high quality health care for Wellington's most vulnerable and I'm very proud of the fact that Te Aro is now an integral part of Wellington City Health system. I work in New Zealand's two best cities, Tauranga and Wellington. In Tauranga I swim, bike and run (maybe YOGA if I'm feeling particularly aware!) and in Wellington I mostly seem to buy my adult children dinner and drinks.

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