Rotorua homes are more affordable

FILE

Rotorua houses are slightly more affordable, as competition between banks eases the pressure on mortgage payments nationwide.

Roost's latest home-loan affordability report has revealed affordability in Rotorua improved from 39.5 per cent in July to 38.4 per cent in August.

The report measures the percentage of after-tax pay needed to service an 80 per cent mortgage on a median-priced house.

Year-on-year figures, however, showed affordability had worsened from 35 per cent in August last year. Rotorua's average weekly pay cheque after tax for people aged 30-34 is now $778.99 - up from $761.63 in August last year.

Felecia Hewsom, of Talk Mortgages in Rotorua, said local house prices were "very affordable" for young families, who could snap up a good property for $220,000. Between KiwiSaver and Housing New Zealand's Welcome Home Loan, a deposit was "achievable", she said.

But because Rotorua didn't have the same kind of growth as some of the bigger centres, it needed new industry to attract families. "... This way we would have more people purchasing property and growing this great place."

LJ Hooker Rotorua agent Stephen Pepper said Rotorua house prices were actually going up.

"We're getting more interest from buyers from Auckland. People are moving out of Auckland for more affordable housing."

Nationally, affordability improved for the third consecutive month as a slight rise in house prices was offset by lower interest rates and reduced mortgage payments. Affordability improved from 61.8 per cent in July to 61.1 per cent in August, but had worsened compared with 55.9 per cent in August a year ago.

Regions where affordability improved included Auckland Central, Manukau, Waitakere, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Porirua and Queenstown.

However, it worsened in Auckland's North Shore, Wellington, Hutt Valley, Dunedin, Nelson and Napier.

According to Roost Home Loans, competition between banks in the fixed-term mortgage market lowered average two-year fixed mortgage rates to 6.13 per cent in August from 6.33 per cent the previous month.

Roost Home Loans spokeswoman Colleen Dennehy said banks were competing hard for business, meaning good deals for customers. "A broker can assist customers to understand what's on offer and negotiate the best deal available."