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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 6th July 2009 TAKAKA WINS APPEAL TAKAKA WINS APPEALBuilding back on again New homes can now be built in the Takaka township as long as the flood risk is mitigated, following a successful appeal to the Environment Court by town residents. The council's policy on variation 57 of the Tasman Resource Plan, released last November, sought to ensure that Takaka was "not allowed to expand beyond the current developed area". The court appointed a mediator who met with Takaka residents and council staff. As a result the council's planning policy has been amended. Former councillor Paul Sangster, one of three residents who appealed to the Environment Court for a change to the policy, was "very happy" with the result. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 29 June 2009) HOT-WATER HEAT PUMPS SAVE DOLLARSHeat pumps are proving popular for heating homes and the next trend is using heat pump systems for heating water - a major contributor to most people's power bills. The technology is not new, and heat pump hot-water systems are increasingly used overseas. Quantum Energy Technologies national sales manager Dave Noyer said the system used a third of the normal power of an electric hot-water cylinder. Here, the Tahuna Beach Holiday Park has just installed a Quantum heat pump hot-water system for its showers and kitchens, and in a second stage will install a similar system to heat the water for the radiators in 28 units. The Quantum heat pump uses free heat energy from the environment, and works like a refrigerator in reverse. The refrigeration gas is compressed and the heat transferred to water in the tank. It is low-cost to run because it uses electricity to run the compressor and fan, not to heat the water. The Quantum system, which has the cylinder on the outside of the building, cost about $5000 to install in an existing home and $4000 in a new home, compared with $2000 for a standard electric system. However, with cheaper running costs, the payback was in three to five years, he said. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 30 June 2009) RELIEF FOR RATEPAYERS AS RISES TRIMMEDTasman district ratepayers are to get some relief from the recession after the council cut back a host of proposed rate rises yesterday. The rates for the coming financial year were set during the TDC's formal adoption of its 10-year plan at a meeting in Richmond, with the shuffling of some projects and lower long-term interest rates slicing increases for some targeted rates which fund wastewater, stormwater, community buildings and recycling. Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne said councillors had thought through the effect of large rate bills on ratepayers. Final adjustments for some Tasman District Council targeted rates Draft cost Final Cost Golden Bay Community Board rate $19.23 $16.45 Motueka Community Board rate $12.50 $10.63 Annual plan change $627.75 $606.38 District facilities rate $49.94 $42.51 Shared facilities rate $48.42 $45.25 Recycling rate $115 $112.50 General rate 4.96% 3.97% (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 1 July 2009) WARM RESPONSE TO HOUSE OFFERBig demand from Nelsonians wanting to warm their cold homes has more than 50 people a day checking out a new government grant scheme which starts today. The rush has created a six-week backlog for installing insulation and heating homes under the Eeca Energywise programme. The $323 million programme, which was announced in the Government's Budget in May, has opened up grants to householders on any income. They can get $500 towards a clean heating device and a third of the cost of installing insulation - up to $1300 out of an average cost of $3500 depending on the house size. What you can get - Insulation: 33 per cent of cost up to $1300 - Heating device: $500 - Banks will top up mortgages to pay for insulation and heating - Eeca Energywise programme (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 1 July 2009) GREEN PORT STUDY FUNDING APPROVEDFunding has been approved for an in-depth study on the scope of a proposed large-scale private "green port" development at Port Nelson. Government agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise will give $100,000 in funding for a feasibility study on the full scope of the project which aims to create a modern marine eco-village for the development of commercial and working boats, at a specially created marine precinct within Port Nelson. Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency chief executive Bill Findlater said yesterday the next step would be securing a suitably qualified contractor to carry out the study, which the EDA planned to have completed by the end of the year. Mr Findlater said timeframes for the stages and completion of the study would be set by NZTE, but news that the funding had been approved was "very positive". He said the EDA would seek expressions of interest for the contract from specialist consultants around the country. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 1 July 2009) STINK RISES OVER RURAL BURNOFFSCouncil to meet property owners Tasman district residents upset over stagnant clouds of smoke from burnoffs have prompted the district council to seek meetings with rural property owners. In both Tasman and Nelson, air-quality standards are still being breached regularly this winter by smoke pollution. Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne said there needed to be a discussion with rural property owners on their use of open-air fires. The discussion would stress the guidelines for property owners on what time they light their fires and how they burn them. His call comes after the Tasman District Council has seen national air quality standards breached 15 times in its patch so far this winter, with the standard breached eight days in a row till last Thursday. During the same period last year, the standard was breached 13 times. This winter, the Nelson City Council has had 14 breaches of air quality standards in airshed A, which is the Victory and Washington Valley area, and seven breaches in airshed B, which is the Tahunanui area. For the same period last year, there were 19 breaches in airshed A and five in airshed B. Rules for lighting outdoor fires in the Tasman district: - Open-air fires are not permitted in Tasman towns and settlements during winter (from June to August). - A fire permit is needed from the Waimea Rural Fire Authority to light open-air fires. - Light fires in wind speeds less than 15kmh. Do not burn in calm conditions, especially on frosty, calm days when the inversion layer traps smoke. - Avoid conflict by ensuring wind will not blow smoke towards neighbouring houses. - Burning domestic waste or industrial waste is not permitted. A resource consent is needed for burning tree stumps. - Light fires at least 50 metres from a road. Source: The Tasman District Council good practice guide to minimise smoke emissions from outdoor burning. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 1 July 2009) NELSON PROPERTY INVESTORS OPTIMISTICCommercial property confidence levels in Nelson are the highest in the country, according to a newly released survey by Colliers International. Although still sitting in the negative at minus 10 per cent, Nelson investors are more optimistic than those in other centres such as second-placed Bay of Plenty on -12 percent or the least confident areas such as Auckland (-45 per cent), Queenstown (-43 per cent) and Christchurch (-38 per cent). Colliers International research director Alan McMahon said it wasn't surprising that Queenstown and Auckland were taking longer to recover because they were the "most overheated" in the years to 2007. "Nelson is a place where local property investors like to buy locally. Investors in this market tend to be experienced, well-informed and conservative particularly in their approach to debt. That makes for an orderly market in comparison to say Auckland and Queenstown where there has always been more speculation." (The Nelson Mail, Friday 3 July 2009) KAITERITERI RENOVATION JOB WINS TOP AWARDNelson developer Alan Trent's house at Venture Cove near Kaiteriteri and the Wakatu Incorporation's new base in Montgomery Square have won the top prizes in Nelson's premier building awards. The Nelson Registered Master Builders House of the Year and Commercial Project Awards, announced at a gala dinner at Hope last night, saw the work of 18 different building firms recognised. Ezebuild Ltd, a firm owned by Mr Trent, Anthony Herring and Paul Richards, won the Placemakers Supreme Award for renovations carried out on Mr Trent's home in Tokongawa Drive. The property also won Ezebuild the $500,000 plus renovation award and the kitchen, bathroom and Gib Living Solutions awards. Wakatu House was built by IMB Construction - formerly Ian McCully Builders - which won the Commercial Project of the Year award. IMB also won the Trafalgar Insurance Brokers Retail and Business Project category for Wakatu House and the City Fitness Health Project category for its work on the Stoke Medical Centre. The Nelson Mail Tourism and Leisure Project Award went to Coman Construction for the Trafalgar Centre southern extension. Wilkes Construction's work on a Kina home saw it get the award for new homes over $1 million and the living outdoors award. Paul Brockie Builders won the new homes $650,000-$1m category, followed by K Fowler Homes in the $450,000-$650,000 category, Jennian Homes in the $350,000-$450,000 category, GJ Gardner Homes in the $250,000-to $350,000 category and Tasman Holdings in the under $250,000 category. The James Hardie Showhome Award went to Peter Ray Homes and the Nulook Builder's own home award was claimed by Anchor Construction. Harrington Hybrid Homes won the Pink Batts Ultra Energy Efficiency Award and the Meridian Sustainable Homes $500,000 to $1m category. Fitzgerald Construction received the Placemakers Award for a renovation under $250,000. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 4 July 2009) PROPERTY WATCHChampion Rd price drops Wakatu Incorporation has dropped the prices on its Champion Rd, Richmond, subdivision after saying just a few months ago that it had no intention of doing so. The 43 sections in stage two were priced from $230,000 but now start at $215,000. First National Richmond principal Colin Wilson said Wakatu's associate, Richmond First National agent Mike Murphy, has advised a price adjustment was needed to gain sales. The sections were ready to build on, had titles and would now compete directly with other subdivisions of an equal or lesser quality for prices, Mr Wilson said. Properties sell above RV A property at 246 Main Rd Hope attracted 35 bids from two parties before selling under the hammer this week for $305,000. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home with a rateable value of $295,000 was one of five properties Harcourts had up for auction on Wednesday. None of the others sold at auction, although auction manager Mike Rollo said a section at 63 Selwyn St, Pohara, that was passed in to the highest bidder at $247,500, had since gone under contract to another buyer. Its RV is $230,000. "It would seem that the Nelson market is similar to the national trend, which is a shortage of listings available to show prospective purchasers," Mr Rollo said. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 4 July 2009) DID YOU KNOW?Duke & Cooke recommends structuring your lease term and rental reviews so that a right of renewal doesn’t coincide with a rental review. That way the renewal option is not complicated by rental negotiations. THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKThe early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. |
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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 |