…which is what we assume is the case with this vacant lot at 17 David Street not far from us at the edge of the Waikanae North subdivison. The lot of exactly 1,000 sq metres was created and sold in September 2015 for $235,000 and sold again exactly a year ago for $310,000.

That is a 32% gain over 28 months, which is way better than what you would get on a deposit in a bank, and is about as safe as.

There is of course the holding cost, basically the KCDC rates which in this case is $2,256 a year at present. But when your property is appreciating at least by that much a month, who cares? You would also need to spend about 30 minutes a month keeping the grass in check.

Is landbanking necessarily a bad thing? Probably not in a residential situation: it maintains a little patch of green in the jumble of boxes a.k.a. houses now substantially covering that subdivision.