In this month's edition of Professionally Speaking, we’ll take an in-depth look at the fascinating things that are happening in real estate around New Zealand right now. 

October Statistics

The statistics have just been released for the month of October. A key insight is that the number of days your property will be on the market - this is the time it takes on average for your property to sell - has slightly increased from 31 to 32 days.

We’re seeing the average prices of property across the country increasing, however the amount of stock is slightly lower than what we saw this time last year. So where do all of these numbers point us to, and how does this affect the marketplace?

Well, we’re seeing an interesting shift around the regions, between the regions, and between the cities. When we look at the new numbers, we’re noticing an anecdotal evidence of people looking into areas like Palmerston North, Whanganui and New Plymouth. What might be causing this? It could be investors starting to look a little further out from the Auckland region, where they might see good value or potential with the high deposit amounts for investment properties.

These Auckland buyers are being met in the Whanganui and Palmerston North areas by Wellingtonians, who are also making a slight move into those Northern areas. It will be interesting to see what the marketplace looks like as we move into the summer months.

These new statistics also indicate that first home buyers may be more open to the idea of moving from one city to another. As employment is more enabled by flexible working arrangements, people who work mostly online start to look in other areas but are still looking for a sense of community in different places around New Zealand. 

 
Tips for sellers, home buyers, and investors

My tips this month for sellers: be careful not to overprice your property. If you’re looking at selling your property, and you’re talking to your agent about advice on what your property can sell for - it is definitely worthwhile to engage the services of a valuer. 

Realistically, your agent’s skills lie in the marketing of your property, and in the negotiating of that sale to ensure that you maximise the sale price at the marketing and negotiating end. For a couple hundred dollars extra, talking to a valuer to double check your agent’s advice will ensure that your pricing is more accurate. 

And my tips this month for buyers? If you’re a first home buyer wanting to think a little bit outside of the square, seek some advice from your mortgage broker and from builders, and investigate the idea of building a new home. There are different lending criteria from the banks around this, and it could be more possible than you think. So with an open mind, go and have a talk to some good advisors, and see what you can achieve.

Finally my tips for investors. When you’re looking to buy a property, it may not be so good to go in too hard, too fast, and too low. Take advice from your selling agent as to when the appropriate time is to put an offer into the property, and when the vendor may be wanting to have a look at those offers. Even if you’re in a multi-offer situation, go with the advice of your agent so that you can achieve the property you want for your investment portfolio. Remember that some of those vendors are home buyers, and they do become emotionally engaged in the process, so step with care with that one!