As Winter is drawing near (each morning seems to be getting cooler!) I thought it a great opportunity to write a post about energy efficiency. After doing a bit of research, I came across this fantastic post from unconditional.co.nz about just that. Did you know, in 2010 it was reported that 1.0 million out of our 1.6 million homes are poorly insulated? Not only is it unhealthy to live in a poorly insulated home but it costs a fortune on power bills.

There is a great website Homestar where you can do a quick checklist of the build of the home, location and age of the home to determine how the home ranks. Homestar also offers some really great tips like the following:
How to renovate to save money

• Employ good passive solar design with your builder or architect to maximise warming winter sun and cooling summer breezes.
• Ensure high insulation standards in the walls, floor and ceiling, creating deeper wall cavities to hold more insulation wherever possible.
• Don’t use recessed downlights, which penetrate the thermal envelope, or use IC-F certified fittings with appropriate insulation.
• Place double glazing with low-e glass and thermally broken aluminium or wooden window frames throughout the house.
• Install an energy efficient heat pump through a registered installer who will advise you on the best system for your requirements.
• Install appliances that have high energy label ratings – fridges need a minimum of three and a half stars, dishwashers and clothes washers should have a minimum of four stars.
• Use low energy lighting such as fluorescent or LED wherever possible (ideally at least 75 per cent of the house).

And with that all said, wishing my readers a warm and snug winter!

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Auckland asking prices have risen 12% this time last year and reached a new high of $685,426 last month.
The national asking price in New Zealand however dipped last month to $477,460 (down 1.4%) but up 7% this time last year.
The number of new listings in April came to a grand total of 10,245 which  equated to 2% more than the number of new listings seen this time last year. However the number of new listings was significantly less (down 18%) than we reported in March this year.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market recovered again in April, rising 3% from March to 29 weeks of stock, and was up 8% on the same time last year. This shows that there continues to be rebalancing in the market, and we expect to see this continue throughout May.

While inventory (based on weeks of equivalent sales) is beginning to ease, and see some re-balancing, we are still well below the long term average inventory (time it takes a home to sell from point of listing) of 37 weeks of stock.

Source: http://unconditional.co.nz/blog/property-report-april-2014/

How about calculating the amount of paint you need before you buy as I have personally made the mistake of buying smaller quantities and it costs more overall so here is a great tool to do just that for any size home, this calculator is a must have : http://www.dulux.co.nz/products/paint-calculator/paint-calculator-interior?roomSize=l

Dulux also offers a great paint problem solver section including one of the most commonly noted problems, peeling paint - Peeling Loss of paint due to poor adhesion or one of the following:

• Seepage of moisture through uncaulked joints, worn caulk or leaks in roof or walls
• Excess moisture escaping through the exterior walls (more likely if paint is solvent-based)
• Inadequate surface preparation.
• Use of lower quality paint.
• Applying a solvent-based paint over a wet surface.
• Earlier blistering of paint (see Blistering).

Solution
Try to identify and eliminate the cause of moisture (see Efflorescence and Mottling). Prepare surface by removing all loose paint with scraper or wire brush, sand rough surfaces, prime bare timber. Repaint with a top quality water-based exterior paint for best adhesion and water resistance. Dulux recommends Dulux Acrylic Sealer Undercoat and Dulux Weathershield X10.