Opinion: Time to tighten our belts

Hawke's Bay Today news editor James Ford. Photo / File

To buy, or not to buy, that is the question.

Or for those struggling to get on the property ladder; how to buy, where to buy, that is the bigger question.

The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) data made for pleasant reading for Hawke's Bay home owners.

The Bay's property market has experienced the second-highest median price increase among the regions, year on year.

Throughout Hawke's Bay the median price rose $60,500 year on year, with prices rising 28 per cent in Napier, and 11 per cent in Hastings.

The September median price for Napier was $430,000, $375,000 for Hastings and $300,000 for Central Hawke's Bay.

Some of my colleagues read the figures with glee, and who could blame them, we all want a secure future.

But for those of us who haven't yet taken that step it was another head-scratching moment.

Getting a foot on the property ladder, particularly in Hawke's Bay, is now tougher than ever.

But before you read on, those figures will not be used as a tool to bash the 'baby boomers', nor will I suggest that my generation is any less astute or responsible with money.

For me, personally, it offered a new foundation on which to build my family's battle plans for buying.

Sure, we can moan and point fingers at low wages and property prices that have skyrocketed.

But it's about taking charge and striving for that long-term goal.

"Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves," my nan in Old Blighty told me when I aired my grievances about property prices over the phone last week.
Sometimes the old sayings are the most accurate.

I suppose that's why they've hung around all these years.

Before completing a task, you need to know what it is - warts and all.

Our belts will have to be severely tightened for the next 12 months or so, but it'll be worth it.