NZ ranked #1 for social progress

Monday April 7th, 2014

A Washington-based think-tank has found that New Zealand is the most socially advanced country in the world.

The Social Progress Imperative, whose advisory board is led by Harvard economist Professor Michael Porter, has put New Zealand first out of 130 countries based on 54 indicators of social progress.

The country tops the world on indicators of personal rights and freedoms, and comes in the top four for water and sanitation, access to schooling and tertiary education, and tolerance and inclusion of minority groups.

It scores a low 28th on nutrition and basic medical care partly because of a relatively high death rate for women in childbirth, 35th for health and well being partly because of high obesity and suicide rates, and 32nd for ecosystem sustainability.

But Auckland obstetrician Dr Sue Belgrave, who chairs a national committee on maternal mortality, said the country's high death rate for women in pregnancy and childbirth of 15 deaths for every 100,000 live births was because New Zealand's figures included deaths from pre-existing conditions and suicide.

"I'm not saying we are perfect, but what we report is an accurate reflection of what is happening in our system. We don't think that's happening in other countries," she said.

New Zealand ranked in the bottom half of the 130 countries for suicide (76th behind the best) and obesity (115th).

But other countries also had low scores on enough indicators to drag them below New Zealand's overall tally of 88.24 out of a maximum score of 100.

Switzerland was close behind with 88.19 points, followed by Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway. Australia came tenth with 86.10 points.

The United States was 16th with 82.77 points, scoring in the bottom half on ecosystem sustainability (69th) and on health and wellness (70th), again partly because of a high obesity rate.

The index is the latest of many attempts in recent years to develop better measures of national wellbeing than the traditional gross domestic product (GDP), which has been widely criticised for measuring only what can be counted in dollars.

For example, New Zealand's measured GDP is rising rapidly at present partly because of the Christchurch rebuild, but the destruction of the previous buildings in the the 2011 earthquake did not count as reduced GDP.

Professor Porter is widely known for his books on international competitiveness, including a 1991 report on New Zealand's competitiveness which advocated fostering "clusters" of internationally competitive firms.

Think-tank director Michael Green, a London-based economist and author of Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World, said New Zealand's placing as the world's most socially advanced nation contrasted with its 25th place in GDP per person.

"In terms of converting economic output into quality of life, New Zealand is doing really well," he said.

AUT sociologist Professor Charles Crothers said he had long thought New Zealand's low GDP rating was "a bit weird".

"We have quite a low GDP per capita in the OECD ranking, but the reality of living in New Zealand is beyond what it looks like in the standard of our homes, education, health and so on. We are firing well above that," he said.

He said it was surprising that Professor Porter's index left out indicators such as the employment rate and income inequality, but it was a fair reflection of the things it did measure.

"There are no nasty divisions," he said. "We are a happy enough lot of hobbits just tagging along without any extreme hatred or violence."

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said: "This report is great news and it backs up what we all know - that we live in a fantastic country."

Labour social development spokeswoman Sue Moroney said New Zealand's high scored reflected "Labour's progressive agenda" in building up public health and education over many decades.

- NZ Herald

As investors ramp up activity, is Australia becoming a nation of renters?

Friday February 28th, 2014

Australia’s property market continues to see strong growth but first home buyers are increasingly being left behind.



In Sydney and Melbourne, the cost of renting is in fact less than paying off a mortgage, according to the latest analysis from Onthehouse’s property research arm, Residex.

According to the latest data, the number of first time buyers hit historical lows in December 2013, to just 7% in New South Wales, 12% in Victoria, and 12% in Queensland.

The national median value of houses and units increased in 2013 by 5.25% and 6.4% respectively.

With prices going up and with affordability falling across the country, the value of loans to investors increased by 2.3% in the final quarter of 2013.

For landlords and investors, this essentially means a bigger pool of renters – giving an added incentive to purchase residential property.

In regards to affordability, the proportion of income necessary for renting or buying means that for many, it costs less to rent than buy.



In Sydney, buyers can expect to pay 39.39% more per month on loan repayments on a median-valued house than it would cost to rent, while in Melbourne it is 50.72% higher.

Source:PropertyUpdate.com.au

The new class of Chinese rich are fleeing their country—with their fortunes

Tuesday December 10th, 2013

In a trend that’s definitely impacted global property markets, the new class of millionaires are making their money in China, but investing it overseas. And many are following their money.

It’s one of the largest and most rapid wealth migrations of our time according to CNBC with hundreds of billions of dollars, and waves of millionaires flowing out of China to overseas destinations.

According to WealthInsight, the Chinese wealthy now have about $658 billion stashed in offshore assets.

Boston Consulting Group puts the number lower, at around $450 billion, but says offshore investments are expected to double in the next three years.

A study from Bain Consulting found that half of China’s ultrawealthy—those with $16 million or more in wealth—now have investments overseas.

And it’s not just the money that’s exiting the country. The wealthy are increasingly following their money overseas.

A study by Hurun and Bank of China found that more than half of China’s millionaires are considering emigrating or have already taken steps to move overseas.

Many experts say that the wealthy are moving to protect their wealth, their health and their families. With China increasingly cracking down on ill-gotten gains and corruption, many of the politically connected wealthy are looking for safer havens abroad.

They are also looking for better environments for their children—with better schools and cleaner air.

Wealthy Chinese buyers purchased more than $8 billion worth of residential real estate in the U.S. in the 12 months ended in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. China’s share of foreign-purchased residential real estate has jumped 50 percent since 2011.

Source: CNBC

New Zealand no.5 on World Prosperity list

Friday November 22nd, 2013

New Zealand has been rated the fifth most prosperous nation to live in, according to an international report.

The 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index ranks 142 nations on their "wealth and wellbeing" in eight categories, including health, education, safety and security, and economy.

New Zealand scored in the top 20 for all categories, coming out fifth overall.

A number one ranking in Education was achieved for New Zealand, where the performance is measured on access to education, quality of education & human capital.

The report highlights that "an improvement in enrolment rates combined with an increase in secondary education per worker helps create an increasingly capable workforce, laying the foundations for further economic development and prosperity"

Other high rankings were 2nd for both Governance and Social Capital.

The Legatum Prosperity Index is published by the London-based Legatum Institute, which provides research on different economic and social issues around the world.

Source: New Zealand Herald

Once again Australians are the wealthiest in the world

Monday October 21st, 2013

This year’s Credit Suisse’s annual global wealth report, which was released last week, shows that Australians have the highest median wealth in the world, and we have the a very low percentage of poor people.

The report shows Australians have the highest median wealth in the world, with average household wealth having grown an incredible 13% a year since 2000.

Australia’s average wealth per adult is US$402,600 (AU$426,100), which is the second-highest in the world after Switzerland.

However Australia’s median wealth (the wealth of the middle wealthiest person in Australia) is the highest in the world, at US$219,500 (AU$233,504).

The proportion of those with wealth above US$ 100,000 is the highest of any country – eight times the world average. With 1,762,000 people in the top 1% of global wealth holders, Australia accounts for 3.8% of this wealthy group, despite having just 0.4% of the world’s adult population.

When it comes to wealth distribution, most Australians (62.6%) had wealth between US$100,000 and US$1 million.

Only 6.9% of Australians had a net worth of under $10,000 – a very low proportion by global standards.

And it has a lot to do with property.

Australia’s wealth is heavily skewed towards ‘real assets’ (in other words property) as opposed to financial ones. Australians have the second-highest real asset allocation in the world, behind Norway, with most of our wealth being stored in our homes.

www.PropertyUpdate.com.au