LifeFirst - Insurances, Home Loans & Investments

14/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/16MPPqzeZ4/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The Reserve Bank's continuing to change its approach to preventing risky lending.

21/08/2024

Some reasonable insights on interest rates for the coming years. Note the comments on choosing six months over a 1 year.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/08/19/with-the-ocr-coming-down-how-far-will-home-loan-rates-fall/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHa26SzGYdAbaDSBMggCIwjAvctXxzJ0aLv4tHRLX9LCNuyPU_L0IhNXy1g_aem_V4L1f8qAwxe3A7jlqDqaVw&ai=

The Reserve Bank has signalled further rate cuts to come, but what will that mean for borrowers?

07/05/2024

Good news this morning! A main bank has just reduced its advertised one-year rate! Not by much, but let’s hope it is the start…Others should follow.
This is no surprise to us, we have been getting far better rates than advertised for a while now and this usually tells us rates will soon drop.

07/05/2024

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07/05/2024

🏡 Looks like we're gearing up for a déjà vu of 2019 in the property market:

• Banks are swamped with home loan applications, taking up to 10 working days to process!
• House inspection companies? Fully booked!
• Good news: Interest rates are still expected to start dropping by year-end.
• Plus, some banks have already removed the tax on rental incomes for service tests.
• The Reserve Bank suggests an OCR rate of 2.5% in the coming years in their recent “Neutral Interest Rates Bulletin”.

Sure, there's some pain out there, but the tide is turning! 🌊 Time to kick-start those plans and hop on board for a brighter forecast! 🌟

13/03/2024

Associate Finance Minister David Seymour said on Sunday that investors would be able to claim 80% of their interest expenses as a cost for tax purposes from April 1 this year, and 100% from April 1 next year.

Property investors are set to regain their ability to claim home loan interest as a cost at a faster rate than had been promised.

06/11/2023

“Welcome to the upward leg of the house price cycle. It usually runs for about six years, and we are now entering month six.” Tony Alexander

https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/tony-alexander-expect-house-prices-to-rise-10-in-2024-and-15-in-2025-44546?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=nzh_fb&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1evhZxuuG5LbcaKCX6BVPtfJ_imNVKV8avDR3Z0-Q3kVqmx1cjj-jw7n4_aem_AY3A2ixUTZWChp-QFZEMG3d_ZJcUIGw4Ak9diX-0MVlovdu4lSzT88puBmrzEUYD8r2l0fntjeVDBSHED6q-x2yg =1698797287

There's growing acceptance that we're in the upwards leg of the cycle.

02/11/2023

To help with the ups and downs - KiwiSaver

Markets go up and down and the truth is that no one knows for sure when this may happen.
Switching your funds to a lower-risk KiwiSaver fund, perhaps one that only holds cash, might seem like the safest option. But it could actually be a disastrous decision, even if the markets keep falling.
Trying to 'time' the market is a classic investing mistake. Let's say you sell out now (by transferring). If your fund has reduced its unit price, that loss is only on paper much the same as if it goes up. If you change funds, it becomes real (just like selling a house if the prices drop or rise), and it gets locked in.
If markets drop, eventually, they will start to recover. It could be tomorrow. It could be two years from now. The turnaround point will not be easily guessed. Again, no one knows exactly when markets will move.
In the meantime, everyone who stays in will have been buying up stocks at bargain prices/or holding on to their existing holdings. Once the market has fully recovered, they'll come out with a handsome profit.
During the global financial crisis, New Zealand shares got smashed. Throughout 2008, they plummeted 32 per cent. The NZX 50 index has since more than doubled from that low, soaring well past its original value on the way back up. Similarly, we saw this again in 2020.
Anyone who sold out near the bottom would have been absolutely kicking themselves. This was mainly those with Kiwisaver on their banking apps who have not had advice.
The strategy of riding out volatility only works over long timeframes, which KiwiSaver is designed for.
That's because in the long run, across almost any period, markets have historically gone up.
But whatever you do, use your head not your stomach, or your future investment returns could pay the price.