The Indian Weekender, 04 June 2021

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10 NEW ZEALAND Friday, June 4, 2021 The Indian Weekender Are government measures to cool housing working? Policies announced by the Government to control the housing crisis have started showing results, but Kalkine Chief Executive Kunal Sawhney says more needs to be done. Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) data saw house sales in April drop compared to March while the total number of properties sold declined by 28%. Prices also showed signs of easing with the national median selling price down by 1.8% as compared to March at $810,000. However, prices varied between one region and the other, with some regions experiencing an increase. Are these early signs that investors’ interest is falling away and making way for first home buyers? Not necessarily. Even though April data shows a drop in sales compared to March, they were still the highest for April in the last five years. March is typically the busiest time for buying a house and after the winter starts setting in the sales drop. According to analysts, it’s too early to say anything. They say there should be a wait-and-watch approach to see whether the early signs of LVRs and tax changes are having an impact on the housing market. “There is no silver bullet to housing crisis,” Prime Minister CERT NZ’s latest report shows Kiwis reported more than 1,400 cyber security incidents from 1 January to 31 March 2021, which is a 25% increase on the same time period last year. " As we increasingly spend more of our lives online, attackers are constantly developing new and more sophisticated campaigns. That’s why it’s really important to maintain good cyber habits. This can be as simple as implementing updates, having a long, strong password and using two-factor authentication. Phishing and credential harvesting Jacinda Ardern says. The crisis will take some time to turn around completely. The Government has been alarmed and taken several steps to curb the rising house prices on both the demand and supply sides. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the last thing New Zealand’s economy and homeowners need is a dangerous housing bubble, but several indicators point towards that risk. Even the Treasury in its Economic Outlook in the Budget 2021 mentioned the impact of the housing crisis and forecast that the annual house prices will fall to 0.9% by June 2022 quarter. Finance Minister Grant Robertson expressed concern in his Budget speech that the Government was under pressure to arrest the “runaway remained the most reported incident category, followed by scams and fraud, then malware. "Almost a quarter (23%) of reports Need For More Water Investment Made Clear Water New Zealand says new evidence just released shows the extent of the challenges facing the three waters sector. The Department of Internal Affairs has just released a series of reports which look at the need for reform and addresses some of the key issues raised during consultations with the sector. Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe says New Zealanders have made it clear that safe drinking water and healthy environmental outcomes are a priority, but there will be a need to achieve this in the most affordable and effective way. The latest Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) report released today, estimates that we need to invest between $120-b and $185-b over the next 30 years to comply with quality standards. “We all want to swim in beaches and rivers that are clean and to be able to turn on the tap anywhere in the country and have safe drinking water but achieving this will come at a big cost." She says there has been significant under investment in water infrastructure for many years. powered by Rubicon Project The Deloitte report, on the economic impact of the reforms and implications, forecasts that every region would be expected to be positively impacted in terms of GDP and employment growth. The report says the reforms would result in an extra 5,800 to 9,300 new jobs between 2022 and 2051. It predicts growth rates of up to 80 percent in the water sector workforce and says this will present significant opportunities for employment growth, specialisation and increased career opportunities. “However, councils and utilities are already finding it difficult to fill current vacancies. This has been recognised for some time. For instance, Water New Zealand’s latest National Performance Review revealed an eight percent vacancy rate across the country in 2019/2020. “That is why Water New Zealand has begun working with Connexis, Taumata Arowai and the Department of Internal Affairs on a long-term strategy to develop a workforce today to meet the needs of tomorrow.” Best and worst power companies revealed in Consumer NZ Survey Contact Energy has been rated as the worst performer in Consumer NZ’s latest electricity satisfaction survey. Its website boasts making "electricity easy and efficient, with competitive rates, friendly local service and flexible payment options”, but with a satisfaction score of just 42%, their customers were less enthusiastic about the company’s performance. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said its annual survey found Contact also rated below average for competitive pricing, helping customers save energy and value for money. “Contact’s rating was considerably lower than the industry average of 52%. It’s the worst score for the company in the past four years,” Duffy said. Trustpower was the other big player to P rime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the last thing New Zealand’s economy and homeowners need is a dangerous housing bubble, but several indicators point towards that risk. housing market.” On the supply side, the Government announced a new NZ$3.8 billion fund to accelerate both the pace as well as the number of houses to be built. The demand-supply gap is very big – as of March, demand was at 26% while supply fell by 9%. The Government’s steps to bridge supply and demand have started paying off. New Zealand recently saw the most houses approved in made to CERT NZ during this time period resulted in some form of direct financial loss, totalling $3 million. score below average for value for money (29%). It was also the lowest rated for competitive pricing (28%) and the lowest equal with value for money (29%). In Consumer NZ’s 2020 survey, it was the lowest-rated retailer with an overall satisfaction score of just 43 percent. Top performers this year were Powershop (77%) and Electric Kiwi (70%). Customers rated these companies above average for competitive pricing, helping them save energy and being value for money. For one in four Kiwis, household power costs remain a major concern. Consumer NZ’s survey found 18% had trouble paying their monthly power bills in the past year. “As the temperature drops, we’re seeing energy prices rising. Low hydro lake levels are driving up prices on the wholesale history. Stats NZ reported in early May that 41,028 new homes were consented in the year to March 2021, overshadowing February 1974’s previous record of 40,225. What more can be done? On the supply side, while the new $3.8 Billion Housing Acceleration fund will help address short to medium-term housing, in the longterm it needs to be integrated with other sequenced projects, as well. Secondly, Housing Minister Megan Woods says the package of measures will help the first home buyers into the market and boost activity, however the Home-Start grant needs to be updated and made suitable for first-time owners. As the prices rose, fewer and fewer first home buyers could afford them. The Government needs to make it more affordable and within the range of first home buyers. To discourage investors, more steps might be on the way from the Reserve Bank. One step that has already proved significant was the removal of interest deductibility. Not only has this discouraged investors from buying new properties, it has also propelled the existing ones to sell. For a bigger impact, the Reserve Bank may announce a slew of new measures. Cyber security incidents continue to rise “Our data shows that year-on-year cyber security incidents are on the rise and they can be costly to recover from,” says CERT NZ Director, Rob Pope. “As we increasingly spend more of our lives online, attackers are constantly developing new and more sophisticated campaigns. "That’s why it’s really important to maintain good cyber habits. This can be as simple as implementing updates, having a long, strong password and using two-factor authentication.” There’s lots of practical advice and information on the CERT NZ website about how both individuals and businesses can stay safe online. If you or your organisation experiences a cyber security incident contact CERT NZ at www.cert.govt. nz or call 0800 CERT NZ, Monday to Friday, 7am – 7pm. electricity market. In the year to March, wholesale prices for electricity generation spiked a sizable 29%,” Duffy said. Consumer NZ encourages households to use its free Powerswitch website to compare plans and check if they can get a better deal. “Our analysis found that households using Powerswitch last winter could save $388 on average by switching to the cheapest plan. With one in five consumers saying they’ve been on the receiving end of poor service, it doesn’t pay to be loyal.” Powershop, Electric Kiwi and Flick Electric received Consumer NZ People’s Choice awards. These are awarded to providers that stand out for customer service and meet Consumer NZ’s other criteria.
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