Price Wars
New Zealand banks are amongst the most profitable in the world. Yet, the banking environment is extremely competitive especially when it comes to home loans. We’re in a low growth environment with...
View ArticleWhy cash is still king 7 years after the GFC
In a world with easy credit and awash with cash, asset prices have markedly increased. Capital needs to find a return. In a low growth world, it is driving down yields and increasing asset prices....
View ArticleStarting your own business – our Squirrel story
Retail is tough. For every success, there are hundreds of retailers who live precariously close to failure. I have a number of retail clients and friends and know just how hard they paddle beneath...
View ArticleThanks a Billion
This week Squirrel hit $1 billion of home loans in the 6 years since we started. We hardly ever stop to celebrate and this milestone feels big enough for a small self-pat on the back for the team. At...
View ArticleRent or Buy? A perplexing question
If you were to judge this question purely based on what you read in the media then the answer would always come down to the financial decision. Is it cheaper to buy rent than to buy? However weighing...
View ArticleWhat’s the best approach to selling your home?
At some stage of your life you will be confronted with the reality that in order to buy that next property that you and your family hanker after, you will need to sell your existing home. How difficult...
View ArticleWhat’s Up with Auckland Land Prices?
I witnessed a transaction recently that sums up the Auckland property market. A piece of land in West Auckland was sold last year to a Chinese investor for $2m with 12 months for settlement. They got...
View ArticleThe Pros and Cons of using more than one lender
There was recently a comment from the banking ombudsman that they had seen a lift in complaints from property investors. Specifically, that property investors and banks have a different view on how...
View ArticleCould we see house prices fall in 2015?
We collectively seem to have a myopic ability to believe that the only direction house prices go is up, up, up! The truth of the matter is that house prices whilst over the long term have increased...
View ArticleAuckland – Here we go again
It looks like the Auckland property market is going to build up another head of steam in 2015. There is confidence in the air. We got through the election unscathed. However, the main catalyst is the...
View ArticleWill there by a ‘Market Correction’ in 2015?
It is a scary question and one for which I don’t have a reliable answer. There will be a market correction at some point in the not too distant future. It is a natural part of our capitalist system....
View ArticleTime to set some Goals?
If you’ve been ignored money for too long then this year might be the opportunity to get it sorted. Right now I’m feeling a bit fat around the one pack. I hate not sucking it up and then looking in...
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