Flourish Financial Services

27/02/2026

It's fascinating to me that still today, women own less property than men.

In my experience as a mortgage broker, I often have women come to me, nervously saying things like ...

I don't understand finances.

Sorry if I ask dumb questions.

I've never been good with money.

I'm not good at numbers.

Can I buy a house?

Should I buy a house?

How do I go about buying a house and having a mortgage?

Where do I start????

My partner/husband always took care of our finances.

Or some other variation.

Rarely have I experienced this kind of nervousness from a male client. Just an observation as I reflect on 10 years as a mortgage broker.

And so it's fascinating to me, but not surprising, that women own less property than men.

According to a report by Cotality (see link below), this is especially true in the first half of life, for women up to 45 years of age.

And yet women consider property ownership to be even more important than men.

We see property ownership as a way to have stability for ourselves and our family.

Also what's interesting, is despite the nervousness of alot of women around finances, women have been shown to often do better with investment decisions.

This isn't a man vs woman post.

I'm just curious and thinking about what we (I) can do to change this?

Grab the full Cotality report here:

Uncover the gender dynamics of home and investment property ownership in NZ. Explore motivations, market share and the equity gap in this year's report.

23/03/2021

Massive tax policy announced today affecting property investors.

Bright line (capital gains tax) increased from 5 to 10 years.

No tax deductibility of interest on rental properties. BUT lets see how this one plays out as there may be exemptions for new builds and/or you may be able to get the tax back when you sell the property, if you have to pay tax on the capital gain under the bright line rules.

Housing policy package: Bright-line test extended, interest deductibility loophole closed, caps on first home products lifted, more money set aside for supporting development

09/02/2021

Yesterday Westpac joined the other main banks in restricting lending on rental properties to 60%.

The Reserve Bank has made this compulsory from 1 May 2021, but it seems the main banks are moving faster than this.

Watch for more tools being brought in to dampen investor demand though, as these LVR restrictions will have some - but limited impact, as investors have plenty of equity with recent house price leaps.

Other tools might include an extension of the bright line rule from 5 years and debt-to-income ratios.

If you've been thinking about getting a rental property, might be a good time to get onto it before of these tools come in.

When people ask me when is the best time to buy property, my answer is whenever you are in a position to be able to. The property market, what banks will and won't lend, and tax implications change on an ongoing basis. Which means what you might be able to do today, you might not be able to in a week or month or 6 months time.

So if you are good to go now (whenever now is) and it is financially comfortable for you, then best to take action.

19/01/2021

If you’re a landlord or been thinking about buying a rental, you probably know about the changes to rental property standards and tenancy laws.

Here’s a good link which covers everything in one place 👌

Most new and renewing tenancy agreements must include a healthy homes statement which sets out how your property meets new standards.

19/01/2021

Well 2020 certainly brought with it some surprises!

Who would have thought NZ house prices would increase by 19% in the midst of a global pandemic 🤔

2020 capped with a +19% rise in house prices for the year despite a sharp jump in volumes sold. Prices were up $323/day in December in Auckland, according to REINZ data

19/01/2021

Did you know that if you’re in your first year of business, you can get a discount on your income tax?

If it's your first year of business, you don’t have to pay your income tax until well after 31 March. But if you do pay before then, you could get a discount.

14/12/2020

ANZ has today further reduced the amount they will lend on rentals to 60%. They want to give First Home Buyers a better chance in the market and stop the flurry of rental purchases.

The trouble is, most people buying rentals have plenty of equity in their homes to use as a deposit on the rental, after the recent jump in house prices.

More tools will come (because the 60% LVR will have some, but not enough impact), like debt-to-income ratios. Watch out for these early next year!

ANZ New Zealand has lifted its deposit requirement for residential property investors to 40%, marking a major change in the lending market.

26/11/2020

Word to the wise ... debt to income ratios may be on the horizon, and earlier than we thought.

What does this mean? Say for example there is a 6:1 debt to income ratio, this will mean you can borrow up to a max 6 times your income.

Let's say right now you have household income of $150k, you'd be able to borrow up to $900k. If you have a current mortgage on the home you live in of say $350k, then you would be able to borrow another $550k for a rental property. Maybe another $150k ish if the banks take into account rental income on a property you buy. So somewhere between $550k - $700k. Sadly that doesn't get you alot in today's property market.

Moral of the story ...

If you've been thinking of getting a rental property then you might want to jump into the market sooner rather than later (and yes I know it's a frenzy out there!).

Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr has revealed that the central bank would like to introduce debt-to-income ratio limits on mortgage lending.

16/11/2020

1-2 year interest rates expected to end up between 2% and 2.5%. So maybe not too much further to fall from current levels?

While the official cash rate looks less likely to go negative, economists predict one and two year fixed mortgages will fall to about 2% in the next year.

10/11/2020

LVR restrictions are on the horizon for March next year 😳

Make the most of 20% deposits on rental properties now while the going is good 👍👍

The Reserve Bank plans to reintroduce loan to value ratio restrictions on mortgage borrowers from March next year following a surge in the housing market.

15/10/2020

If you've been thinking about getting a rental property and you only have a 20% deposit, might pay to get one sooner than later before you need 30% (or more).

There are predictions that the banks may decrease LVR (loan to value ratio) for investors next year. So instead of being able to borrow 80% as you can now, this might fall back down to 70%, or lower. This is to try and curb house prices getting ahead too far too quickly.

The odds of LVR restrictions returning for investors next year are "fairly high" due to the strength of the residential property market, according to economist Tony Alexander.