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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 18th October 2008 REGIONS HOUSE PRICE FALLS LESS THAN MOST REGIONS HOUSE PRICE FALLS LESS THAN MOSTThe global financial crisis is hitting homes, although the Nelson region is showing some resilience, with property values not falling as far or as fast here as in other centres. The latest Quotable Value figures, out today, show that Nelson city values dropped 4 percent and Tasman values dropped 2.1 percent during the three months ending September, less than the national average of 5.8 percent and better than New Zealand’s main cities and most provincial centres. The average September sale price in Nelson was $344,578 while Tasman’s was $361,589. The national average was $379,854. The latest Real Estate Institute figures show there was a 22 percent increase in property sales in the region between August and September, but the 134 sales last month was still 9 percent less than in the same month last year. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 13 October 2008) NELSON JUDGED BEST AIRPORTNelson Airport has been rated the best in the country, and now has a trophy to prove it. The company was presented with the Major Airport of the Year award at the New Zealand Airports Association Conference last week, heading off competition from the country’s international airports. Nelson Airport company chief executive Kaye MacNabb said the 500,000 passengers passing through the terminal each year placed the airport in the major airport category. The award also recognised the contribution the airport made to the economy through the operations of several aviation companies at the airfield. Air New Zealand Link operator Air Nelson and its engineering division is based here, along with Helicopters New Zealand, which has its head office and engineering division at Nelson Airport. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 14 October 2008) HUNDREDS HAVE SAY ON PARK PLANMore than 700 people have made their views on the planned Trafalgar Park upgrade known to the Nelson City Council. The council’s community services manager, Susan Coleman, said 715 submission had been received by yesterday afternoon’s deadline, and more were expected today. The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 14 October 2008) CEREMONY TO START RUBY BAY BYPASSThe start of construction on the long-awaited Ruby Bay bypass will be officially marked tomorrow with the turning of the first sod. New Zealand Transport Agency communications advisor Andree Kai Fong said the event would start at 2.30 pm in Dominion Rd, Mapua. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 14 October 2008) MEDIAN FARM PRICE DROPSThe median farm price in Nelson and Marlborough dropped to $971,500 last month, from $1.3 million in August, says the Real Estate Institute. However, it was up from $815,000 in September last year. In total, 18 farms were sold – six grazing, three each in dairy, forestry and horticulture, two special and one arable – down on the 21 sold in August and the 29 sold in September last year. Fifty-nine lifestyle blocks sold in September last year. The median price fell to $437,000 from $470,000 in August. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 15 October 2008) REGIONS BEST ARCHITECTURE SINGLED OUTTakaka‘s new library and a Nelson supermarket are among the winners in the 2008 Nelson/Marlborough Architecture Awards. The awards, announced last night, are run by the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The Takaka Memorial Library, by Nelson-based Redbox Architects, won both the public architecture category and a Resene Colour Award. The Alison McAlpine Health and Fitness Centre at Nelson College for Girls, also by Redbox Architects, was also a winner in the public architecture category and picked up a Resene Colour Award. The “experimental” Jerram House at Golden Bay, by Nelson-based Jerram Tocker Barron Architects – which was designed as the architect’s own holiday home - delighted the judging panel. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 15 October 2008) A NEW HEART FOR NELSONNelson’s central business district could extend up Vanguard St and Rutherford Park could link the city to the sea in the next step of a far-reaching central city development plan. The idea for a retail complex in Wakatu Square has also been revisited. The strategy, branded Heart of Nelson, is guiding the next phase in the city’s growth, following on from the release of the 1995 inner-city strategy. It will go out for public consultation next month. The $150,000 study, commissioned by the Nelson City Council, takes a holistic view of development over the next 20 years that “doesn’t just botox the cracks, but looks at the city’s vital signs”, council environmental policy planner and strategy project manager David Jackson says. The consultants working with the council include Auckland urban design professional Kobus Mentz, who has pulled in Sydney-based town centre retail space designer Mike Cullen, Sydney traffic engineer Jim Higgs and Brisbane employment growth specialist Derek Kemp. Their draft report identified the need to expand and enhance the city to create quality business settings and employment environments, a range of choices in where people might live, and superior recreational environments for business to evolve in. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 16 October 2008) HOUSING SHORTAGE PREDICTEDFears of a critical housing shortage in Nelson have been raised as home building plunges. With New Zealand’s population rising while construction falls, a national shortage of homes is expected by the second half of next year. Statistics New Zealand figures show that the number of consents for new residential houses in Nelson city and Tasman district has also declined over the past six months, with numbers significantly down from 2007. Consents were issued for 13 new dwellings in Nelson and 13 new homes in Tasman in August. This was down from the 42 consents issued in Nelson and 38 consents in Tasman in August 2007. Figures for July show a similar trend. There were 20 consents issued in Nelson and 24 in Tasman for new homes in July this year. In July last year, consents were issued for 33 new homes in Nelson and 52 new homes in Tasman. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 16 October 2008) SUBMITTERS OPPOSE $7M PARK PLAN 2 TO 1More than half the 847 people who have made submissions on upgrading Nelson’s Trafalgar Park are against it, but this does not mean the council will abandon the plan, says the city councillor who is driving the project. The public consultation process designed to find out if the council should go ahead with a multimillion-dollar upgrade of the park has drawn one of the biggest public responses on a single issue in many years. (The Nelson Mail, Friday October 17 2008) RESORT WINS TOP AWARDThe Grand Mercure Monaco Hotel and Resort has scooped one of the hospitality industry’s biggest prizes, which the team behind the development say is a win for the whole Nelson region. At the Hospitality Association of New Zealand’s annual awards at the Dunedin Town Hall last night, the resort took out the supreme overall award, and also won the best accommodation hotel category. (The Nelson Mail, Friday October 17 2008) SHORTER INNER-CITY PARKING BID FAILSAnother attempt to restrict all-day parking in Nelson’s Wakatu Square has failed, but city councillors have come up with a $140,000 compromise plan that could see more spaces for one-hour parking on the carpark’s perimeter. The infrastructure committee yesterday turned down a recommendation to the full council that Wakatu carpark have a three-hour time limit on parking. Councillors agreed instead to a recommendation to keep all-day parking in the bulk of the square, and to install further parking meters where needed for one-hour parking near retailers. (The Nelson Mail, Friday October 17 2008) MAPUA DESIGNER WINSMapua architectural designer Brian Johns has won the Roof Design category at the ADNZ-Resene 2008 Nation Design Awards, announced in Christchurch last night. Mr Johns won the award for the Nicholson house in Foley Rd, Ruby Bay. He was also a finalist for the Distinctive Design award, for the same house. Nelson architectural designer Mark Fielding was also a finalist in that category for a spec house built for a client, Errol Freeman Builders. (The Nelson Mail, Friday October 17 2008) PROPERTY WATCHGardens close to being sold (The Nelson Mail, Friday October 17 2008) |
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This publication is compiled by Duke & Cooke Ltd, valuation and property specialists. The information contained within this newssheet has been obtained from various local sources and no responsibility is held for any parties relying on the accuracy of this information without obtaining independent verification. To contact us regarding circulation of this service: Phone +64 (03) 5489104, Fax +64 (03) 5468668, or email: admin@valuersnelson.co.nz |