Greater Ponsonby is a popular area to live for all the reasons we’ve harped on about for years – its proximity to the city, great housing stock, and the best entertainment strip in town, to name but a few. And as the real estate market sits up and takes stock of the frenetic activity of late, so homeowners have held back on putting their properties on the market, and created a shortage.
We therefore have a simple case of supply and demand – not enough available homes in a popular suburb. This, in turn, has led to more competition amongst buyers and a slight increase in the median price. Good news for vendors.
The other good news for vendors who chose to market their property with Ray White Damerell Group is that our success rate on the auction floor is generally much higher than those published for the rest of the real estate industry. The reason for this is that marketing a property for sale by auction requires a completely different skill set to other sales methods, and we commit a huge amount of time and energy to ensure that our skills are as sharp and current as possible. We also believe that the skills and experience of our auctioneer, who we fly in from Sydney every Wednesday for our auction night at The Sapphire Rooms, exceed those of anyone we’ve seen in New Zealand.
So is it a good time to sell? It is with Ray White Damerell Group.
It’s a fact. The number of sales is decreasing, whether measured against the same month last year, or against last month. So, what’s causing this decline? It’s not just one factor, but a reaction to a number of influences – the banks tightening lending, issues regarding foreign ownership and, of course, November’s general election.
When the volume of properties available for purchase decreases, buyer competition relative to that number often increases. This certainly seems to be the case in June where the buyer competition for fewer properties has raised the median price from May, bucking the national trend.
The vast majority of our vendors continue to choose the auction method of sale to market their properties. Month on month, quarter on quarter, it takes half the time to sell via auction than sale by negotiation, the success rate is much higher and, as a general rule, vendors selling via auction tend to achieve better prices.
Our team achieved an 84% success rate over the past three months, with all properties taken to auction. This reinforces the fact that if a vendor is genuinely motivated to sell, marketing via the auction method dramatically increases the probability of success.
There are always going to be a small percentage of properties – or more often, a small number of vendors – where the auction method doesn’t suit their circumstances. However, in the majority of cases, the greatest probability of achieving a premium price within a short fixed period, is sale by auction using a company that has a focused team and an award-winning auctioneer – and that’s Ray White Damerell Group.
This map gives you an overview of total sales and median price across the Greater Ponsonby area. Hover over the yellow dots for the statistics on each suburb.
The Rental Market
June showed no lack of pace or signs of slowing which was surprising. Based on market activity in previous years, demand has always decreased as the colder months have arrived on our doorstep. The most interesting trend that we have seen, however, is that if properties are substandard, tired and cold, tenants will simply move on and wait for something better presented and warmer. They are simply demanding value for money, and rightly so. The message is clear, landlords.
