Property Management
ZAC SNELLING GROUP HEAD OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RAY WHITE GROUP
THE OPERATING CASE
For residential investors, headline figures have become less forgiving; national house prices have moved broadly sideways for three years; rents have recorded little growth over the year, and borrowing costs are again edging higher.
New Zealand’ s biggest bank – ANZ – expects the Official Cash Rate( OCR) to increase from 2.50 per cent to 3.00 per cent by the end of 2026.
Against that backdrop, property performance is increasingly determined after the purchase, says Ray White Group Head of Property Management, Zac Snelling.
“ When rapid capital growth and rising rents are absent, the operating quality of an investment becomes much easier to see,’ he says.
Ray White Group, Head of Property Management, Zac Snelling
THE HOLDING PERIOD MATTERS
Property analytics firm Cotality’ s latest Pain & Gain report found a little over 13 per cent of residential properties resold during the second quarter of 2026 changed hands for less than their previous purchase price – the highest proportion since 2012.
Investors were slightly more exposed, with 13.50 per cent recording a nominal resale loss, compared with 12.20 per cent of owner-occupiers.
The clearest dividing line was time; properties sold at a loss had been owned for a median of 4.30 years, while those sold for a gain had been held for 14 years.
“ Those figures reinforce that residential investment is rarely a short-term proposition,” Snelling says.
“ A longer hold period places greater importance on what happens between acquisition and sale. Preserving the property, maintaining reliable income and making welltimed improvements can influence the eventual result as much as the original purchase decision.”
“ Occupancy, tenant retention, maintenance, compliance and evidence-based rent setting are no longer background administration. Collectively, they determine how effectively an asset produces and protects income.”
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