Big deposits block home buyers

Personal experience, through the unsuccessful auction of her classic Sandringham house, has made seller Rachel Jean wonder what the experts are talking about.

Rachel Jean said buyers were showing an interest in the house she owns with husband Paul O'Halloran at 8 Sandringham Rd.

But she questions whether Auckland houses are any more within people's grasp now than before.

Yes, she says, the price of money and housing is dropping but what about those huge deposits the main banks now want?

"Home affordability? That's okay if you've got the money. The trick is getting that deposit," said Rachel Jean, who has her own television production company.

A 4 per cent drop in the Real Estate Institute's national median house price in the year to November and a 3.5 per cent mortgage interest rate cut since March have technically made property a lot cheaper.

But that did not draw the crowds to Sandringham.

The couple plan to relist the house with a fixed price over $700,000, but Rachel Jean wonders who has the 20 per cent cash deposit or $140,000 banks now demand.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 22 Dec 2008

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