Property

NZ Herald 24 October 2009

Q&As: Are house prices less likely to fall in posher suburbs?; Financial advisers paid by commissions can’t do as well as someone who is independent; Two Q&As on why recently issued preference shares are not good investments.

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NZ Herald 10 October 2009

Q&As: A reader challenges my advice last week about postponing a first home purchase for three years; How to get around the income cap on the KiwiSaver first home subsidy; How to get around the three-year requirement for KiwiSaver first home assistance; Another reader challenges me — on my advice on whether to sell a Mangere Bridge house or a Whangamata house; The merits of coin tossing; Maybe Lotto will make reader’s decision easier.

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The Investor 6 October 2009

Good news goes unheralded. One of the findings in a recent survey caught my eye. Only 12 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed said the value of their financial investments had grown in the previous six months, with 42 per cent saying the value was unchanged and 46 per cent saying it had fallen. The vast majority got it wrong.

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NZ Herald 26 September 2009

Q&As: Is it better to sell a Mangere Bridge property or a Whangamata property?; Reader who switched to riskier fund, and saw immediate loss, wonders if she should switch back; Share markets have performed really well lately; Two letters about KiwiSaver and “total remuneration”, in which employees more or less pay their own employer contributions.

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NZ Herald 19 September 2009

Q&As: Even a reader’s accountant seems confused about how gains on share sales are taxed. The law needs to be changed; Property fan who did badly in the share market broke one of the basic rules of share investing; Did I mislead readers about the advantages of dollar cost averaging?

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The Investor 25 August 2009

Secrets of real estate agents. Sorry — this is my third column in a row about real estate commissions. It’s just that readers keep responding. Lately it’s been agents or former agents, letting us in on their secrets.

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NZ Herald 15 August 2009

Q&As: Reader explains why he won’t invest in shares; Data suggest New Zealand doesn’t actually over-invest in property; New Zealanders’ lack of interest in shares hurts more than just individuals; Help is available for horseracing “addict”.

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The Investor 28 July 2009

A fairer deal for all on real estate agent commissions. Now — with real estate agents hungry for listings — might be a good time for home sellers to negotiate a new way of paying agents. This is not about kicking a man when he’s down. What I’m proposing shouldn’t leave an honest agent worse off. In fact, if she or he is good at their job, it will leave them much better off.

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