PUBLIC MEETING SET ON WOODBURNERS

A public meeting will be held on the controversial issue of woodburner use next week as the Nelson City Council tries to balance providing warm homes and abiding by air quality standards. A review of the Nelson air quality plan began late last year after a woodburner working party found there was potentially the opportunity to relax the regulations controlling their use. At next Monday’s meeting, residents will have the chance to tell the council staff what changes, if any, they think should be made to the current plan. There will be a two-hour dropin session where people can talk about anything related to air quality in Nelson or new technology. It will be followed by a presentation from council staff on the current approach to the Nelson air quality plan, monitoring and modelling results to date, the plan review process and any non-regulatory support that’s available. Last week, parliamentary commissioner for the environment Dr Jan Wright reported that air quality in New Zealand was a good news story, although on cold, calm days in winter the quality was poorer in some towns and cities. In her report Wright recommended the Government review the law governing the management of particulate matter, New Zealand’s major air pollutant, as the regulation was 10 years old and needed to be updated ‘‘with current scientific understanding’’.

(The Nelson Mail Tuesday, March 10, 2015)

DEMAND KEEPS UP HOUSE PRICES

Home sweet home in Nelson now averages just over $530,000, latest estimated values show. The newly released figures in the QV.co.nz Quarterly E-Valuer suburb report reveal the ups and downs of property values around the region. The top three at January 31 this year are Nelson, with an average evaluator price of $533,950, followed by Atawhai at $475,950, then Richmond on $441,200. ‘‘There is good demand for homes in Richmond and this is reflected in the average QV.co.nz E-Valuer figures which show an increase of 2.7 per cent in the year to December, which is the highest rise of any suburb in the Nelson-Tasman region during that period,’’ said QV National spokeswoman Andrea Rush. The lowest values were in Takaka at $295,100 and Tahunanui at $336,000, and both had no increase in the year to December.

 

(The Nelson Mail Wednesday, March 11, 2015)

HORTICULTURE DRIVES NELSON REGION'S RISING GDP

The Nelson region’s economy has been punching above its weight. The size of Tasman and Nelson’s economy rose by 7.8 per cent in the year to March 2014, according to latest figures from Statistics New Zealand. That is above the 6.7 per cent growth nationwide for the same period. The increase in the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) was thanks to the agricultural sector, mainly horticulture, and manufacturing – with the region having the largest share of seafood processing.  In the five years from 2009, the Nelson and Tasman economy grew by 25.4 per cent, above the national rise of 22.4 per cent. The region contributed 1.8 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP, at $42,695 per person.

(The Nelson Mail Thursday, March 12, 2015)

GOOD WEATHER SPURS HOMEBUYERS

The Nelson housing market continues to look positive, latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) statistics show. The median house price remained static for Nelson, Richmond and Motueka last month compared to January 2015, with Nelson City’s median price at $367,000 – a 2.8 per cent increase compared to January 2015’s median price of $357,000. REINZ Nelson spokesman Darryl Marshall said the good weather in the region was boosting interest in houses. The number of homes sold in Richmond rose by 43.8 per cent last month compared to January. This also reflected steady interest in the region, he said. Marshall said another positive factor was that the days-to-sell in the region was below the national average.

(The Nelson Mail Friday, March 13, 2015)

INTEREST RATES ON HOLD FOR AS FAR AS WE CAN SEE

The Reserve Bank on Thursday left official interest rates on hold at 3.5 per cent, saying there would be a ‘‘period of stability’’, possibly for two years. Rates could move up or down depending on how the economy goes. But for now the Reserve Bank has clearly moved to the sidelines and economists said the chance of a rate rise soon were essentially zero, with a small chance of a rate cut in coming months. Interest rates are set to stay low for much longer than earlier expected, even though annual inflation was expected to fall to ‘‘around zero’’ in the March quarter.

(The Nelson Mail Friday, March 13, 2015)

"THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK"

There will be OBSTACLES

There will be DOUBTERS

There will be  MISTAKES

But with HARD WORK

There are NO LIMITS

Duke & Cooke Property News is a clipping service publication compiled by Duke & Cooke Ltd, valuation and property specialists. The information contained within this newssheet are excerpts of property-related articles from current local news sources. Full attribution is given for the source of the extracts in order that the reader may refer to the source articles for full information. As this publication is a clipping service only, the articles included do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Duke & Cooke, and these items are included impartially and objectively.