Tim Golder has been away since March and is now back. He can be contacted on (027) 298 0309 and he looks forward to working with you again.
The media (TV, radio, print) have published clear-cut evidence listings are down and buyers are out. Demand has begun to outstrip supply. Increasingly, it now looks like a sellers market for quality properties across St Heliers, Glendowie, Kohimarama, Mission Bay, and Orakei.
Further evidence comes from Alistair Helm, the CEO of New Zealand's largest dedicated real estate website (realestate.co.nz). He reports inventory has dropped, property is selling more quickly, and adds prices have remained more or less stable overall.
A more accurate picture is found by isolating out suburbs in The Bays. Zoodle, a subsidiary of realestate.co.nz, shows healthy real estate price growth as at June 2011 for St Heliers (5%), Glendowie (12.3%), and Mission Bay (8.6%). Falls have been recorded in Orakei (-6.6%) and Kohimarama (-12.1%). Want to know how much your house is worth without seeing a real estate agent?....Free Online Property Appraisal....Make sure you see this one.
If Barfoot and Thompson's recent statistical trend - continual drop in the number of properties coming onto the market (6053 in February vrs 4830 in July) - continues, buyers may come under even more pressure to pay more across Auckland.
Furthermore, Tony Alexander's (BNZ economist) accurate commentary over time about an insufficient number of houses being built, exacerbates the problem of reducing housing stock for sale.
Of course the recent economic turmoil in Europe and America makes things more volatile. If it settles down, it is likely Reserve Bank moves will lift mortgage rates to the buyers detriment. If so, any sensible buyer will be looking to cement in rates while they can.
At the moment it is not likely mortgage rates will go up if the turmoil continues - but mortgage rate increases are still a possibility. Rates could rise due to the cost of raising funds internationally by banks at roll-over time regardless of the Reserve Bank's Official Cash Rate (OCR). At the moment mortgage rates are low and buyers want to buy. Ever wondered how much a property sold for in your area of interest? Now you can see for free. Sales Statistics....Be sure to have a read.
Given more property is selling than coming onto the market, it is a great time for sellers to take action: the fewer the properties on the market, the less the competition from other sellers. The less choice a buyer has to buy, the more opportunity the seller has to sell.
In a nutshell, if you are thinking of selling, sell now to take advantage of the lack of competition and low mortgage rates while you can.
