Outlook for property in New Zealand

Anyone looking to emigrate to New Zealand may find the state of the New Zealand housing market very advantageous at the moment. The price of property in New Zealand dropped around 6.1% during the year to October 2008 according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

When adjusted for inflation this equates to house prices falling 10.6% bringing the price of the average house in New Zealand down to £134,000.

Following rises of 94% between 2001 to 2007 New Zealand property prices started to drop in early 2008 and falls of 16% to 24% from the 2007 highs are being predicted by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand by the end of 2010.

This fall in property values has affected sales levels for real estate in New Zealand and in November of 2008 property sales dropped 45.4% over the same period in 2007. Home ownership has also been falling in New Zealand, at its peak in 1991 73.8% of Kiwis owned their own home, that’s now dropped to 66.9%. One reason for this is the fact that whilst house prices in New Zealand have shot up, rental prices have only increased by an average of 6.7% per annum, making renting more attractive for families struggling to get on the property ladder.

So how is this going to affect people wanting to emigrate to New Zealand? Levels of immigration have always had an impact on housing price movements and construction in New Zealand, with the housing boom of the early 2000s strongly associated with the high number of immigrants during that time. In 2002 there were 38,000 migrants into New Zealand, that figure dropped to 5,500 in 2007 and the reduced levels are also impacting the New Zealand property market. What this means to the expat is that houses are getting cheaper. If you plan to buy property in New Zealand there are going to be some bargains coming onto the market as the housing market readjusts itself. Whether prices drop 16%, 24% or more, 2010 could be a good time to buy property in New Zealand

Is Studying In Australia A Way To Migrate?

Australia attracts a lot of international students and it is easy to see why but is it a way to migrate?

Millions of dollars are spent in marketing and recruitment off shore and Australian University places are filled with intellects from all nations. All Australian Universities accept overseas students and there are no quotas or restricted limits on how many or what percentage of international students’ universities can take.

Entrance Qualifications
Some people do say it is easier to gain access to an Aussie University as an international student than as an Australian. However, this is debated. Admission for international students is individually assessed.

Australian universities accept the international baccalaureate (IB) certificate but not an American high school diploma, for example. Fluency in the English language is tested if a certificate isn’t provided. A student needs to prove their level of intellectual capacity and this is often judged by whether they could gain a place on a similar course in their own country.

You can get more detailed information from your University of choice or http://www.dest.gov.au/.

Other Requirements
International students need a student visa. This is granted once a place on a course has been guaranteed. Fees need to be paid up front, not in full but at least half of the first year’s.

Students must also be able to pay for their day-to-day living costs and for private health insurance. On the student visa it is possible to work for up to 20 hours per week. Given that Australian degree courses are short, (3 years to study for a Bachelor degree), the cost for many foreign students is lower than their countries of origin.

Is there a catch?
To keep the student visa, students do need to have good attendance and good results. When the course is finished, the visa expires and it is time to say goodbye. Whilst many students hope to be sponsored and stay on, there isn’t a guarantee. However, there is a skills shortage in many professions and job sponsorship visas more readily available with short waiting times.

Switching visas within Australia is tricky if not, from what I’ve heard, impossible. A student would need to leave the country and re-enter but hey, a quick holiday to Bali or New Zealand is a small price to pay if you’ve landed your dream graduate job.

More People Move to Dubai

Dubai’s population is continuing to grow, a government official said yesterday, despite reports that the economic downturn has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs. The emirate issued 1,000 more visas a day than it cancelled last month, Raed Safadi, the chief economist for the Government of Dubai, said yesterday at a conference. “They’re still positive,” he said, referring to the net entries of people to Dubai. However, the growth in net entries has slowed in recent months.
Based on Mr Safadi’s figures, 31,000 more people received Dubai work visas than those who cancelled their labour or residence permits in January. The emirate issued a net increase of about 40,000 visas in December and in a normal month issues a net of 59,000 work visas, he said.

Dubai’s Ministry of Labour is cancelling an average of 1,500 work permits and visas a day, according to some newspaper reports. Mr Safadi, declining to confirm that number, said the city needed to support growth in consumer demand and job creation to guarantee the economy’s expansion in the future. Late last month, a senior officer at the Abu Dhabi Residency and Naturalisation Department said the emirate received 400 to 1,000 new visa applications every day. He said the number of cancellations remained stable, 50 to 200 a day.

Speculation about the extent of job losses and outward migration across the country prompted an economist at Standard Chartered Bank, Mary Nicola, to suggest last month that “the biggest risk facing the UAE economy is related to its labour market”. The UAE’s redundancies started last year when Morgan Stanley laid off 15 per cent of its Dubai staff and Goldman Sachs let go 10 per cent of its workforce. Layoffs then spread to local firms in the property and financial services sectors. Nakheel dismissed 15 per cent of its staff and Shuaa Capital nine per cent in the fourth quarter last year.

Other property developers and construction companies have laid off staff after scaling back projects and cancelling new developments. Morgan Stanley has said US$263 billion (Dh71.6bn) worth of projects have been cancelled or postponed in the UAE. In recent weeks, Mashreqbank and Damac Properties have cut jobs, while major hotel chains are laying off staff in reaction to sinking occupancy rates.

Source: Dubaiinformer.com