Nor'West News: March 14, 2024

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Thursday March 14 2024
REAL ESTATE
59 Waterstock Way, Waitikiri 3 2 1 1 2 2 2 www.harcourtsgold.co.nz | Listing #PI84456
Simply Irresistible!
59 Waterstock Way has been built with
wonderful contemporary architecture,
high spec chattels and exceptional
garaging for a caravan or boat. This is
a quality home you will love to both
entertain and relax in. The window
shutters give you the feeling you are in a
resort somewhere tropical and the feature
wooden floors are stunning and warm.
The location is superb with the golf
course so close, the forest and beach
also a short distance away. Comprising
of approximately 210m2 and set on an
easy care landscaped 567m2 section, it
is amongst other contemporary quality
homes.
The garaging is superb and consist of
2 internal garages, one is higher to fit
a caravan or boat. This home is large
enough for families yet compact enough
for lock up and go.
Do not delay to view, contact me today
to view.
Auction
Thursday 21st March 2024
from 10:00am (unless sold prior)
Gold Auction Rooms,
471 Papanui Road
Open Homes
Sunday:
3:15pm - 4:00pm
Jacq Lawler
Licensed Sales Consultant REAA 2008
Harcourts Papanui
027 507 3606
jacq.lawler@harcourts.co.nz
Mixed Messages in
the Current Market
Whether it’s the newspaper, the television
or online commentary, there’s currently
plenty of optimism around the property
market and – to be fair – it’s contagious.
But the real question we need to ask
ourselves is whether it’s true.
Let’s face it, after the rollercoaster of the
past four years, including the highest price
increases ever seen post-Covid and a harsh
correction in 2023, who doesn’t want to
celebrate just a little? But I’m of a mind we
need to take a pause and reflect.
So, why don’t we dive in together, look at
what’s happening locally and then decide
what’s fact, fiction or even conjecture?
Because it’s all there!
Here’s what I’m currently seeing …
Let’s start with listing numbers, which are
up.
As are auction numbers. Our own company
currently has some 74 auctions booked for
the month ahead at the time of writing and
this is creating significant buyer interest.
Although the number of auctions reflects a
strong push by people to be on the market
in February, it’s by no means unusual.
Who doesn’t dream at Christmas and
through the New Year of changing
direction, whether that means purchasing
instead of renting, upsizing, downsizing
or leaving the city? So, I’m not one for
jumping to conclusions based on the
current increase in available properties.
It’s definitely seasonal and this summer
momentum can often be seen ebbing in
the autumn months of April and May.
But here’s something not so customary
of late: being pleasantly surprised by the
number of those auctions brought forward
(a term used when the owners receive an
unconditional offer that brings everything
forward from the scheduled auction date).
It’s a sign that people don’t want to wait
because they fear competition – and that
happens when there are more buyers
around. Only this week, out of a catalogue
of 19 properties, we had four that were
brought forward, and all had additional
strong, competitive bidding. Tears, smiles
and applause from those in the busy room
followed.
Attendances at open homes are also up, as
are multiple offers, so these three elements
are certainly supportive of a strengthening
market which owners, realtors and the
media are taking heart from.
Now let’s look at what I’m currently
hearing.
Most of us have short memories and it’s
easy to slide into a belief pattern that all
is well and prices will jump back to those
extraordinary figures we came to expect
two years ago. For context, prices across
New Zealand peaked in November 2021,
then were seen to drop by almost 18% to
bottom-out in May of last year.
Since then, they have increased by 4%
according to statistical data up until
December of last year.
So, it’s a cautious journey and although
banks and others are sticking with low
growth figures, there’s still room for
optimism – though it needs to be mixed
with realism too.
Finally, what am I thinking?
There is still a world of pain out there for
many people.
Increased interest rates are hurting and
that’s across every demographic. Banks are
proving extremely pedantic in what they
expect of their clients. It means that some
people are finding it too tough to hang on.
Despite the promise of Brightline and tax
deductibility changes, that includes recent
landlords. And other vendors are preferring
to downsize rather than struggle with hefty
monthly mortgage payments.
There’s also a belief that we are likely at
the bottom of the market and good times
are around the corner, in which case now
is the time to buy. For the entrepreneurial
amongst us, this is a signal to hunt hard for
opportunities.
It’s always a crystal-ball game and mine
is a little cloudy at the moment, so I’d
encourage anyone making a property
decision to get good advice, keep your
expectations intact and, if you’re selling,
hope that you just might have a property
that causes people to applaud your result.
After all, this market might be exactly right
for your circumstances and yours might
be one of the good news stories that we’re
starting to see.
Lynette McFadden
Harcourts gold Business Owner
027 432 0447
lynette.mcfadden@harcourtsgold.co.nz
PAPANUI 352 6166 | INTERNATIONAL DIVISION (+64) 3 662 9811 | REDWOOD 352 0352 | PARKLANDS 383 0406 |
SPITFIRE SQUARE 662 9222 | STROWAN 351 0585 | GOLD PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 352 6454 |
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GOLD REAL ESTATE GROUP LTD LICENSED AGENT REAA 2008 A MEMBER OF THE HARCOURTS GROUP
www.harcourtsgold.co.nz