Selwyn Times: August 11, 2021

Wednesday August 11 2021 Selwyn Times
• By Susan Sandys
SECTION PRICES have
doubled in Rolleston in the last
year.
Section sales in the town
and wider district appear to be
bucking a nationwide trend of a
gradual reduction to the rate of
increase to real estate prices.
CoreLogic NZ’s house price
index showed last week that the
nationwide
growth figure
dropped from
7.2 per cent at
the end of June
to 5.9 per cent
at the end of
July.
Matson and
Allan Real
Estate Ltd
director Chris
Flanagan said there was currently
no indication of Selwyn’s
section price rises slowing.
He had not seen the market so
buoyant and aggressive in the
about 35 years he had been selling
in the district.
“Even in the last two to three
months, it’s just sort of gone a bit
crazy really,” Flanagan said.
The high prices at Rolleston
were encouraging potential buyers
to look further afield, and the
increases were reflected across
the district.
“There’s been a significant
increase in section prices,
Rolleston, Leeston, Dunsandel,
Darfield, it’s right across the
board,” Flanagan said.
Examples included the 32-section
Hanks Run at Rolleston.
Sections in stage one, with an
average size of 750 sq m, sold
for an average price of $361,000
about two months ago. Sections
in stage two, with an average
size of 695 sq m, sold for an
average of $385,000 per section
about four weeks ago. Six to 12
months prior, sections of that
type and size were selling for
$170,000 to $180,000.
Soon the agency would be
selling some 700 to 800 sq m
sections on Brookside Rd on
behalf of the district council,
and it was possible they would
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Section prices soar as demand jumps
Chris
Flanagan
fetch more than the Hanks Run
sections.
In Dunsandel, the Dunsandel
Estate subdivision had 29 sections
averaging 900 sq m with
an average price of $235,000.
Twelve months ago they would
have been worth $160,000.
At Darfield, the agency had
just sold stage three of Torlesse
Estate, which had sections ranging
from 2000 to 5000 sq m.
Stage three had nine sections,
there had been an average of
four offers received for each,
and the price they sold for was
$350,000 to $400,000.
Darfield was getting more
interest from potential buyers as
the district council committed
to a sewerage system for the
town, as this meant residents
HOT
PROPERTY:
Darfield’s
Torlesse
Estate
stage three
sections had
an average
of four offers
on each.
would not have to install septic
tanks.
His company had not had any
recent section sales at Lincoln
and Prebbleton, but strong
residential house sales indicated
those townships were generally
following the same trend as the
rest of the district.
Buyers in the district ranged
from locals wanting to upsize
and build, to building companies
wanting to take house and
land packages to the market.
“It’s purely a supply and
demand thing, there’s a real
shortage of sections and people
are paying top dollar for them,”
Flanagan said.
“Even building companies
are prepared to go a bit further
afield now to secure sections.”
NEWS 7
In Brief
DRINK DRIVERS
Police dealt with a high number
of drink drivers on the weekend.
On Saturday, the police
impairment prevention team
from Christchurch staffed a drink
driving checkpoint at Rolleston.
From 8pm-10pm they processed
six drivers for drink driving.
On the same day, police in the
district stopped a driver speeding
on Birchs Rd, Prebbleton. The
driver recorded a level of 671
micrograms per litre of breath.
Another driver in Prebbleton was
also apprehended, recordeding
360mcg/l.
UTES COLLIDE
Two utes crashed head-on
Waimakariri Gorge Rd about
2.15pm on Friday. Sheffield
Volunteer Fire Brigade chief
Neville Croy said the occupants
were lucky to escape injury. “The
utes were buggered,” he said.
“They (car occupants) were all out
and walking around and quite
coherent when we arrived.” A fox
terrier was also uninjured.
NO GP YET
The district council has yet to
confirm a general practice as a
tenant for its Selwyn Health Hub.
“We are continuing to talk with
a number of parties and we’re
confident of securing a practice,”
group manager property Douglas
Marshall said.
Mayoral Relief Fund
Now Open
Selwyn District Council has opened a fund to support residents of Selwyn who have
suffered hardship or damage to their property as a result of the May 2021 flooding.
For more information, criteria and application forms, visit selwyn.govt.nz/floodrelief
Or email mayoral.relief.fund@selwyn.govt.nz
The Mayoral Relief Fund will close when all funds have been allocated.
selwyn.govt.nz