Major global events over the last few months – primarily Trump and Brexit – have shown us that we live in a turbulent world, and that New Zealand with our stable leadership, buoyant economy, and our wonderful quality of life, is looking like a pretty attractive option for those wishing to escape the madness overseas. These factors continue to inject confidence that the housing market will remain stable and perform very well over the next few years.
Leading financial journalist Bernard Hickey at his recent talk, hosted by Ray White Ponsonby, discussed another contributing factor to the strength of the sector. He reminded us that Auckland isn’t keeping up with demand for housing and infrastructure, and hasn’t done so since the 1970s. He went on to say that as long as there is an imbalance in supply and demand, there would always be a high demand for properties in the city fringe suburbs, such as Ponsonby.
Month on month (28%), and year on year (17%) these figures both show a steep rise is total sales for the month of October, and we expect that to continue into 2017. Purchasers have decided that they want to make a move and get themselves into a new property before Christmas.
We don’t believe that this month’s 10% drop in median sale price will be a long-term shift. What has skewed this figure slightly is the settlement of a large scale development - 43 Brown Street in Ponsonby (which Ray White Damerell Group sold).
Auctions remain the best way to sell a home. Clearance is still very strong, at 24 days, and that has remained consistent all year. The homes sold have enjoyed very strong marketing campaigns and good exposure in Herald Homes, and that’s certainly contributed to the interest come auction day.
A figure of 91% indicates to us that demand is still very strong for quality stock, and that auctions are still the preferred way of selling a property from a vendor’s perspective. This figure is backed up by a high average number of registered bidders at each auction (4).
Although there was a slight dip in popularity for homes sold by auction in October, the annual trend is still on the rise – and at 76%, it is the method of sale chosen by three out of four of our vendors. It remains the most transparent way of selling.
The feedback from our salespeople is that interest remains strong in the area, with high numbers attending open homes, and that’s backed up on auction day by the number of registered bidders. We’ve also sold well across all the price bands during the month, which shows consistency in all housing stock in the suburb.
The Rental Market
With the Auckland economy remaining strong, there is still high demand for good quality rental properties, especially those close by the city, with good transport connections. Prices remain stable in the lead up to Christmas. We expect more demand come the new year, when the new college terms come into play.
For more in-depth information, please feel free to call one of our team members.
