In beautiful New Zealand, real estate investment has long been sought after by Chinese investors in the country. How can effective risk management tools be used to grasp the risk factors involved in property investment? How can a variety of financial products and instruments be used to combine property investment with currency trends to maximize investment returns? These topics of concern to Auckland real estate investors became the focus of the "2010 New Zealand Real Estate and Financial Markets Seminar" hosted by KVB Kunlun International on July 15. Barfoot & Thompson, the largest local real estate agency, was the co-organizer of this seminar. CEO Ms. Wendy Alexander addressed local Chinese investors for the first time, sharing the latest real estate trends as well as her many years of personal real estate investment experience.
Exchange rate fluctuations have consistently affected the profits of local Chinese investors in property investment. Mr. Zhang, a client of KVB Kunlun International, saw the NZD/HKD exchange rate at around 3.8 in 2002. Mr. Zhang purchased a NZD 1 million property on Auckland's North Shore, and sold it for NZD 1.5 million in 2007, when the NZD/HKD exchange rate was 6.0. In his real estate investment, Mr. Zhang effectively grasped the trend of the exchange rate and gained double returns. Through specific case analyses, Mr. Wong Chung Yuen, Director of the Investment Trading Department at KVB Kunlun International, introduced in an accessible manner the financial instruments that can be used during the property investment process. By combining the characteristics of the two markets, he analyzed the opportunities of investing in the local property market, helping investors achieve outcomes such as exchange rate hedging and profit maximization.
Ms. Alexander is optimistic about the Auckland real estate market. Although property prices have recently remained stagnant, she believes that investing in the local real estate market has always been a wise choice, and she encourages Chinese investors to invest more in high-quality local properties.
"Auckland's city center offers many high-quality investment properties. And the various districts of the North Shore, owing to their beautiful scenery, attract a large number of investors and tenants," Alexander said.
Alexander also particularly reminded investors to carefully examine the quality of buildings, warning everyone not to incur significant legal litigation expenses in order to save on inspection costs at the time of property settlement.
Regarding investment properties, Alexander said that the average rental prices this month also recorded increases. Rising costs of various kinds are one of the driving reasons, prompting most landlords to hope to offset other expenses by raising rents.
That day's seminar, aimed at local Chinese property investors, attracted more than 90 local Chinese investors to attend, including mortgage brokers, real estate agents, property investors, and local property buyers and sellers. The strong response from the local Chinese community brought about by this event proves that Chinese investors have a significant demand for financial and real estate information.
It is understood that this event marked the first collaboration in the local Auckland market between New Zealand's largest private real estate agency and the largest Chinese-funded financial institution. Both institutions expressed that they will continue to carry out broader and deeper cooperation, jointly providing high-value services to Chinese investment clients.
