Economist gives Wellington vote of confidence

Economist gives Wellington vote of confidence

Wellington offers good opportunities for investors, first home buyers, and people looking to free up cash outside Auckland according to BNZ’s chief economist Tony Alexander.

In the August edition of his Sporadic newsletter, titled Undervalued Regional Housing Markets, Mr Alexander says Wellington is well-placed to benefit from people leaving Auckland due to high house prices.

"So if you gave me $10mn and said go forth and buy a bunch of houses you reckon will produce the best capital gains in the next five years where would I look? Not Manawatu Wanganui because when times get tough ability to liquidate assets becomes very constrained. I’d sink it into Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and a tad in Nelson.

"I expect to see a lot of talk soon about the good city life which Wellington offers," says Mr Alexander. "The ability to buy a reasonably priced house to raise a family, the fact few head offices are planning to shoot north now, the coming long-term benefits of the Transmission Gully Motorway, IT sector, culture, runway lengthening, film sector and so on."

Gerard Quinn, Chief Executive of Economic Development Agency Grow Wellington, says Mr Alexander is highlighting what a great place Wellington is to live and work.

"There are plenty of job opportunities, particularly in our strong tech sector.

"With a vibrant city, excellent public transport and easily accessible coastline, the Wellington region offers so much more than lower house prices.

"It’s also an affordable city to do business in and has the highest concentration of web-based and digital technology companies in New Zealand. Wellington is poised to grow."

The August ANZ Roy Morgan NZ Consumer Confidence report issued today listed Wellington as the only region in New Zealand where confidence didn’t fall.

ENDS.

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