Quite a few expats come to NZ, buy property and find that even that's not enough to make them feel at home in this country. But with the world economy feeling a bit under the weather, flipping it for no loss, let alone profit, isn't something you can count on.

Did you find a way out of this situation? Know anything about renting out? What advice do you have for others who are stuck in NZ with a house they have trouble selling?

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IMO, it's likely that NZ housing prices (and land prices generally) are going to drop quite substantially from their current levels before a bottom is reached. (Recent run-ups are in large part a result of borrowing / debt. Such bubbles usually end in a price collapse, although there may be large partial recoveries along the way.)

If this turns out to be true then it's worth considering:
- Waiting to buy (yes, I know this probably means renting if you are in need of a place and that has its own problems, too).
- Going ahead and putting your property up for sale now if you intend to sell, rather than waiting (prices may drop significantly in the meantime if you wait).
- Biting the bullet and dropping your asking price if your house is for sale and you're getting no nibbles; better to take a 5% hit now than wait and take a 25% hit.

Big drops in property prices have happened before in New Zealand. (Check out what happened in many areas after the 1987 stock market crash.)