Insolvency Statistics – May 2014
Market Commentary
Despite the OCR rise, and more on the way which will start to cause problems for those with high lending, house prices remain high. Some commentators are suggesting a drop while others are hedging their bets. Certainly, the number of houses sold was lower in April than previous months.
Commercial building consents are up which is great news for developers. In Auckland, the political parties are starting to plug their affordable housing plans in the run up to the election. Meanwhile, the Auckland Housing Accord has begun to take effect with fast tracked consents now being allowed. Time will tell if it makes a difference or not.
Meanwhile, world dairy prices took yet another dive. You’ve got to wonder why anybody takes up farming. It’s not an easy profession at the best of times and with low dairy prices and increasing capital costs, it becomes incredibly hard.
Let us hope there are some positives to be taken from the imminent budget. As the political parties start to line up their monetary policies to entice the voters, the budget will undoubtedly be the government’s first major chance to flex its muscles and the opposition’s chance to then “put the boot in”.
The New Zealand dollar dropped a little in the run up to China releasing its market data. Anticipation on the Australian Federal budget has also affected the Kiwi dollar trading across the Tasman. Interestingly, world share prices increased over the period with world markets showing optimism.
In the USA rumours over Apple’s intentions remain high. Possible take overs and new product announcements being the main cause for gossip. Certainly, many investors will be interested to see if some dividends will be paid as has been promised.
February, March & April Comparison of
Insolvency Appointments 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014
What the figures are showing?
- There were 172 insolvency appointments in April 2014 which is comparable to previous years but well below the 2011 peak. A mere 4 receivership appointments, no administrations and 168 liquidations were recorded.
- Year to date insolvency appointments for 2014 were 717. This was down significantly on previous years. Liquidations accounted for 679 of those appointments.
- Applications made to the High Court to liquidate companies totalled 34 for April 2014 which is a large drop on previous months and years. Applications made between January and April 2014 showed a slight drop on previous years at 363 of which 251 were made by the IRD.
Year to Date Comparison of Insolvency Appointments 2011 to 2014
