Brina and Mike

First Place – Andrea Courtney, Eastzone Realty Ltd

Second Place – Zay Griffith, Taranaki Property Specialists Ltd

Third Place – Jackie Mark, Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd

Top Referring Franchise (Highest number of settled mortgage referrals):

First Place –  Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd

Second Place – Monarch Real Estate Ltd

Third Place –  Grenadier Real Estate Ltd

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Harcourts Written Business (by number):

Suzanne Isherwood

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Total Written Business (by number):

Gary Xie

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Harcourts Written Business (by dollar):

Suzanne Isherwood

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Total Written Business (by dollar):

Gary Xie

Highest Share of Business from a Harcourts Franchise:

Mark Courtney for Key Real Estate Ltd

Top Performing Insurance Adviser for most Annual Premium Income Written:

Craig Jones

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

NORTHERN REGION
Top Referring Sales Consultant – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Andrea Courtney, Eastzone Realty Ltd

Top Referring Franchise – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Harcourts Written Business (by number) – Suzanne Isherwood

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Total Written Business (by number) – Gary Xie

Highest Share of Business from a Harcourts Franchise – Mark Courtney for Key Real Estate Ltd

CENTRAL REGION
Top Referring Sales Consultant – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Shaun Cosgrave, Monarch Real Estate Ltd

Top Referring Franchise – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Monarch Real Estate Ltd

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Harcourts and Total Written Business (by number) – Di Dunn

Highest Share of Business from a Harcourts Franchise – Mike Rogers for Eastern Bay Real Estate Ltd

SOUTHERN REGION
Top Referring Sales Consultant – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Mary Turnbull, Gold Real Estate Group Ltd

Top Referring Franchise – Highest number of settled mortgage referrals – Grenadier Real Estate Ltd

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Harcourts Written Business (by number) – Sue Clydesdale

Top Performing Mortgage Adviser for Total Written Business (by number) – Sue Clydesdale

Highest Share of Business from a Harcourts Franchise – Tony Falloon for Phoenix Real Estate Ltd

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mortgage.android.nz&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5tb3J0Z2FnZS5hbmRyb2lkLm56Il0

The Reserve Bank today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent.

Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said: “The outlook for monetary policy remains consistent with that described in the March Monetary Policy Statement.

“Despite continued strains in Europe and disappointing data in some countries most recently, global financial market sentiment remains buoyant and the medium-term outlook for New Zealand’s overall trading partner GDP growth remains firm.

“Growth in the New Zealand economy has picked up.  Consumer spending has increased and rebuild activity in Canterbury is gaining momentum.  House price inflation is high in some regions, despite prices already being elevated.  The Bank does not want to see financial or price stability compromised by housing demand getting too far ahead of supply.

“Fiscal consolidation is constraining aggregate demand.  In addition, drought has lowered agricultural production and will likely also negatively affect farm output in the coming season.  International dairy prices have spiked higher in response to the drought, but these price gains could prove temporary.

“The New Zealand dollar remains overvalued and is higher than projected in March.  Further appreciation has occurred partly in response to the announcement of a substantial quantitative easing programme in Japan.  The high New Zealand dollar continues to be a significant headwind for the tradables sector, restricting export earnings and encouraging demand for imports.

“The CPI increased 0.9 percent in the year to the March quarter and is expected to remain close to the bottom of the target range this year.  Weak near-term inflation prospects need to be balanced against our projection for inflation to gradually rise towards the 2 percent target midpoint.

“At this point, we expect to keep the OCR unchanged through the end of the year.”

Media contact:
Mike Hannah - Head of Communications - mike.hannah@rbnz.govt.nz

Simple, handcrafted wooden bowls look stylish and elegant. Collect pine cones, acorns, dried leaves, twigs, nuts, and other seasonal items on an autumn walk. Create a beautiful display by arranging the items you have collected in the wooden bowls.  Alternatively, you could just pile handcrafted wooden bowls high with apples, pears, oranges and other seasonal fruit. Display them on tables in the living room, dining room or kitchen.  Wooden bowls can also add a seasonal touch to the bathroom, where they can be used to store soaps, and the bedroom, where toiletries and other small items can be displayed in wooden bowls.  Purchase or make decorations with an autumn theme and incorporating the colours of the season. There are many examples, including tablecloths and table runners decorated with leaves and pillow covers with acorn designs.

In the living room and bedrooms, replace bright, light-weight summer pillow covers with warmer ones made from heavier materials such as wool, chenille and heavy cotton. Pillow covers in seasonal tones of red, brown, orange and gold will reflect the outdoor colours and add a touch of warmth as the weather becomes cooler.  It may not yet be time to exchange your summer-weight bedding for your winter bedding but it is a good idea to add a warm throw or a couple of blankets to your bed so that extra warmth is available on colder nights.

Wicker baskets give your home a cosier feel, reflecting the changing weather. If you have an open fire, fill a wicker basket with logs and place it at the side of the fireplace, even if you have not yet lit your fire. It will provide a foretaste of the warmth to come.  Use wicker baskets to store blankets, throws, slippers and other items that will help you to warm up whenever there is a chill in the air. Place these wicker baskets in the living room and bedrooms so that everyone in your family can warm up whenever they need to.

Scented candles can add to the autumn atmosphere in your home. Choose fragrances that reflect the season, such as wood smoke, which conjures up the idea of a walk in the woods with leaves crunching under your feet, or spices, such as cinnamon and cloves, which evoke a warming feel on cool, crisp day.  In autumn, there are many small changes that you can make so that your home becomes a little warmer and more comforting now that the long, warm days of summer are over. You can truly celebrate the season by reflecting the changes in the weather in both the colours and designs of your home accessories, so that it feels like autumn both inside and outside.

Getting the Best Deal

Most people don’t realise that they do not need to use their bank for foreign exchange payments and forward contracts.  Often just shopping around for the best rate can save clients 1-2% on their transfers.  Providers such as NZForex specialise in foreign exchange and work hard to ensure you have a simple, cost effective transfer.

Managing Risk

The most common and effective way to manage currency risk is to use forward contracts.  These contracts simply allow you to lock in exchange rates for future transfers and can be used for transfers up to 12 months in advance.

Another useful tool is the limit order.  Placement of a limit order means you specify your desired exchange rate and should the market price fluctuate to that level, then your foreign exchange provider will automatically purchase the currency for you.

These are effective because you cannot watch the markets every minute of every day and you may miss out an advantageous, but short lived, rate improvement.

About NZForex

NZForex is part of the OzForex Group, which is a strategic investment of Macquarie Bank, Accel Partners and the Carlyle Group.  The OzForex Group also includes UKForex, CanadianForex, OzForex, ClearFX and Tranzfers.

Since its launch in 1998, the Group has grown to be one of the world’s largest online foreign exchange companies by offering super competitive exchange rates, great technology and superb service.  Offering seamless 24-hour access to Corporate and Private Client Dealers, the OzForex Group completes over 200,000 funds transfers per year on behalf of clients.  A combination of knowledge and expertise has made the OzForex Group a significant player in the global foreign exchange marketplace, and one of the world’s leading online foreign exchange services, with over 350,000 registered clients globally.

For more information or to speak to a NZForex dealer 24 hours a day, simply register with NZForex.  Once registered you will be able to benchmark your bank or current provider with NZForex, and shortly after registering,  you will be contacted by a licensed dealer to discuss how we can help.

To receive the agreed benefits for Mortgage Express clients you must Register Free Here

April last year marked the high point for floating mortgages since the reserve bank started tracking fixed versus floating data in 1998, as of April 2012 63% of all mortgages were on floating rates. Meanwhile housing credit demand has stepped up over recent months implying households are increasingly willing to borrow more to meet the higher market prices.

House prices, like the prices for most other goods and services are driven by supply and demand, but the property market is unique in the fact it has two main drivers on the demand side of the equation those being finance availability and interest rates.  Lower loan to value ratios (LVR’s) mean people must put down a higher deposit before the bank will finance them.  Less people able to get finance will (in theory) take buyers out of the market driving down demand and in turn property prices.  This will have an impact on first home buyers but with a decent portion of buyers cashed up from property price rises and from overseas it’s hard to see any major impact of lower loan to value ratios, at least over the near term.  Interest rates appear to be the most effective tool in the RBNZ tool box.  At the moment the RBNZ is sitting tight on interest rates but the higher house prices rise, the higher the likelihood of an increase highlighting the recent trend to fixed interest rates.

The largest increase in the number of new houses was in the Auckland region, up 160 (51%) to 473. This includes 130 apartments, up from zero in February 2012.  Canterbury had the second largest regional increase in new houses up 91 (35%) to 351.  There were no new apartments consented in Canterbury this month, compared with 16 a year ago.  Earthquake related building consents in Canterbury totalled $35 million in February 2013, including 55 new houses; this is the lowest monthly total since April 2012.

House sales are moving ahead strongly with the number of houses sold in March this year at 8128, the highest level for a month since May 2007, with the number of sales up 23% on February 2013. Compared with March 2012, the sales numbers were up 11%.  With the number of properties on the market limited despite the new building consents, prices have had only one way to go.  The national median house price has topped the NZ$400,000 level for the first time ever and the national median price rose 8.1% compared with March 2012 and was up NZ$18,000 in March 2013 compared with February 2013.  Rises were the sharpest in Auckland and Canterbury but prices have also gained across the country, although at a slower rate.

My aim is to provide you a personalised and comprehensive Risk Management Insurance plan. Everybody has different needs and requirements and by developing an understanding of your particular situation, I can design a specific and affordable plan to ensure you and your family can maintain long-term peace of mind.  I look forward to working with you.

Insurance and Risk Management covers the following:

• Life
• Trauma Cover
• Mortgage Protection
• Disability/Income Protection
• Medical Insurance
• Business & Partnership Protection