Happy life in the city despite fallen values

Dick and Barbara Ayres enjoy living in the CBD. Photo / Doug Sherring

Dick and Barbara Ayres aren't bothered that the Central Auckland property market has fared poorly during the slump, mostly due to plummeting apartment prices. They're happy apartment dwellers with no plans to live anywhere else.

Before moving to the First Imperial apartments in Hobson St six years ago, the couple had a sprawling Mt Albert residence. Now, Dick's a member of the city council's CBD residents advisory committee, contributing on issues such as the Project Auckland waterfront development.

"There are more than 20,000 residents in the CBD, and we're trying to encourage them to be politically motivated," he says. "I'm passionate about the city, that's why I do it."

The couple own a second investment studio in their building, as well as three other studio apartment investments and a rental property in Avondale.

Dick says most city apartments have seen no capital growth in the past seven years - in fact, values have dropped. The couple might recover what they paid if they were to sell, having spent plenty on upgrading, but from an investment perspective, he says this is good. "If you buy well, rents have stayed stable and you get a good yield."

The penthouse in their building was listed at $395,000 and just sold for $295,000, and Dick says it went for $255,000 seven years ago at a mortgagee sale. "The current market is depressing prices, there's not much we can do," he says. However, long term, he thinks even "shoeboxes" will see gains as soaring construction costs and new minimum size regulations have halted building.

"Eventually, where are people going to live in the city? They will accept the smaller ones, society changes."