Nz job alert

Tens of thousands of jobs in New Zealand's property sector, along with its finance, construction, retail, and tourism industries are expected to be axed next year as the recession takes its toll...

The Bank of New Zealand is forecasting the credit crunch will cost 32,000 jobs over the next year in these boom and bust industries as the unemployment rate rises from 4.2per cent now, to six per cent by the end of 2009.

Property agents have already taken a huge hit, and yet Real Estate Institute President Mike Elford said job losses could now amount to 10 to 15 per cent of the country's 16,000 registered estate agents.

The building industry is also facing many thousands of job losses, mainly among the smaller building firms.

Also under pressure are housing companies such as Lockwood, Signature and Jennian Homes, as well as mortgage brokers, valuers and housing financiers.

Harcourts, New Zealand's biggest estate agent chain with 180 offices, said that average sale prices have so far fallen by 11 per cent since the beginning of the residential market slump.

The majority of estate agents in New Zealand are not anticipating the property market will recover until at least 2010 and prices could remain well below their 2007 peak until around 2013.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk