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.
Q&As: Steps a middle-income family can take towards buying their own home; Scams not always easy to spot; The presence of family trusts could prevent governments from means testing NZ Super; Has the worst already happened for kids in KiwiSaver?
Q&As: It’s top-up time for many people in KiwiSaver; More ideas for couple having trouble affording their first home; 3 Q&As on the government’s new student loan repayment bonus.
Q&As: The pluses and minuses of the government’s new student loan repayment bonus; 2 Q&As on the woes — and possibilities — for first home buyers.
Q&As: Tips on how to ease back into investing in share funds; Have I been too upbeat about the outlook for shares?; If the Dow Jones index is so bad, how come so many in the news media highlight it?; Auckland couple on $60,000 could buy a home if they really want to.
Q&As: First home buyers should be prepared to buy a “dump”; 2 Q&As on KiwiSaver help for first home buyers — including new information for non-employees and people going overseas. Plus: KiwiSaver book giveaway — be in to win!
Q&As: Changes to the KiwiSaver first home subsidy rules; Subsidy could suit couple well; Where to invest if you plan to go for first home subsidy.
Q&As: PIES have many more pros than cons, with tax breaks and, in some cases, a government guarantee; Single parent with three rentals might want to sell one — but not for the reason she suggests. Plus: readers’ views on KiwiSaver.
Hope and help for first home buyers. Things are looking up for would-be first home buyers, left out in the cold in the recent house price boom. The numbers are finally getting better, and government assistance is increasing.
How same is the same housing market? A reader has taken issue with a comment in my last column that “the vast majority of current homeowners… could just sit out a plunge in house prices, or else sell and buy in the same market and suffer no loss.”