Sunday February 03, 2008 By Michelle Coursey
Renters might think landlords are sitting on pots of gold.
But with rent levels lagging behind rising property prices, some investors are happy to break even.
Auckland landlord Andrew Bruce, 37, and wife Cath Heppelthwaite own eight properties and say the past year has been “difficult”.
Bruce, who does project management consultation as well as managing the couple’s investments, and Heppelthwaite have bought one property in Hamilton, one in Rotorua, and six in Auckland in the past four years.
We have found it quite difficult over the past year or so to find deals that would meet our criteria,” Bruce said.
“We’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern… sitting on our hands a little bit, waiting to see what was actually going to play out in the market.”
Bruce said trying to find properties with good yields had been very hard in recent months, particularly in Auckland, and shortfalls often had to be covered by landlords.
“To get something to break even, you have to buy it at a good price, and be able to add some value to it somewhere along the line.
“While people might feel rents are quite high, if you look at the other point of view, all the costs associated with owning houses are going up - rates, interest, insurance - they’ve all gone up in the past year quite significantly.”
But even with rents at record levels in December, the couple said it had been surprisingly easy to find a large number of tenants eager to get into their Auckland homes.
“If you have well-presented properties, it seems there is the demand.”
Bruce said they still felt confident about their investment in property, but investors had to be prepared to wait for returns.
“It can be a little bit of a sacrifice sometimes if you’re in it for the long-haul.”
