Harcourts sold 80% of Auckland auction properties last week

Property

Harcourts achieved 80% auction success rate in Auckland and 66% in Christchurch, but only 17% in Tauranga last week

8th Mar 16, 10:20am by Greg Ninness

There was a wide variation in the clearance rates at Harcourts auctions around the country last week.

In Auckland Harcourts auctioned 95 properties and sold 76, giving a clearance rate of 80%.

But in Tauranga the clearance rate was just 17%, in Wellington it was 58% in Christchurch it was 66% and in Blenheim it was 50%.

The most expensive sale of the week was a property in Auckland's upper harbour suburb of Greenhithe which sold for $2.75 million, and the cheapest was a house at Marton which sold for $86,000.

See below for Harcourts auction results from around the country last week:

Auction Results - Harcourts Blenheim:

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59 Comments

by sferris | 8th Mar 16, 11:14am 1457388898

I'm interested whether this is buyer interest back into the housing market, vendors setting more realistic (lower) prices/reserves, or a mixture of both.
I guess the REINZ data for February (especially the strata index) will help give an indication when it comes out.

by SpaceX | 8th Mar 16, 11:25am 1457389535

There you go, the market is about to go bananas. The Chinese are back. Harcourts 80%, Bayleys 75% clearance.

John Key isn't going to do anything about it, the media will do everything to pump it up and Australia is cracking down = 25% increase in 2016.

by sharetrader | 8th Mar 16, 11:57am 1457391467

JK will not want to upset his donners or party members, so yes he will do nothing

by CJ099 | 8th Mar 16, 1:14pm 1457396052

Space X - Really do you have any evidence to support your claim that the Chinese Investors are back?? We need evidence not just assumptions!

Plus, did you read the earlier article today about the Hong Kong residential home sales plunged -70% !!!! In February from a year earlier to a 25 year low, as falling prices and economic uncertainty deterred buyers. Last month, only 1,807 homes were sold in Hong Kong, compared with 6,027 a year earlier.

Wouldn't any savvy Chinese Investor take advantage of a home market and wait for it to bottom out, then make a good investment without the risk of paying Capital Gains Tax at a whopping 33% if they invested in NZ instead?

Btw they don't have Capital Gains Tax in Hong Kong.

Today's article link: http://www.interest.co.nz/news/80463/china-forex-reserves-fall-slower-c…

by cut.it.out | 8th Mar 16, 4:59pm 1457409545

we put a house up for tender in Havelock North in Hawkes Bay we had 8 tenders all were Chinese...just saying

by Esprit | 8th Mar 16, 5:37pm 1457411850

That's because there's a plane-load of Chinese people flown over to buy property at the moment. Scuttlebutt I've heard is that in the past couple of weeks they've been buying up everything whether it's nailed down or not.

by Zachary Smith | 8th Mar 16, 11:33am 1457389981

I think you will find all sales are 100K plus over CV. I will be happy with a 3% increase this year.I'm not greedy.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:35am 1460147716

Yes 3-5% for me I am a happy chappy :-P

by sharetrader | 8th Mar 16, 11:56am 1457391411

Tauranga is interesting as it is being fuel by auckland investors, have they fiqured out its no good filing the place with rental housing if you can not get good tenants.

by Narrabeen Boy | 8th Mar 16, 6:42pm 1457415730

Tennants are great and rent increases are going through the roof!

by tito | 8th Mar 16, 12:06pm 1457392008

Surprised with Tauranga results as things are going pretty crazy down here. After years of stagnation prices are moving up with plenty of interest from Auckland buyers/investors and local buyers taking advantage of such low interest rates. Plenty more increases to come yet over the next 12-18 months as the market plays catch up. Next due out REINZ figures will demonstrate how quickly things are moving and that prices are rising......http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/property/news/article.cfm…

by head_down_bum_up | 8th Mar 16, 12:38pm 1457393930

Very surprised by Tauranga. Preparing to enter that market myself in the next few months it is interesting to see such a low clearance rate. Perhaps Aucklanders are playing a wait and see game before moving their cash to buy something in Tauranga at prices that are starting to look over inflated for the area - compare RVs to asking prices easily 20% above e.g. 160a Mansels was passed in, now has asking price of 359. RV is 235. Just crazy.

If it slows down in Auckland, why bother investing in Tauranga if what they want all along is a house in Akl. Another month or so will give a much clearer picture to where things are headed. Clearance rates are one thing, prices vs. RV etc is another I think.

by tito | 8th Mar 16, 12:41pm 1457394099

Boom times are a plenty in the Bay: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=150…. Onwards and upwards.

by rastus1 | 8th Mar 16, 12:52pm 1457394764

....its so stupid its funny. Its Fonterror/dalry all over again....just in a different costume..

by SpaceX | 8th Mar 16, 2:00pm 1457398836

Evidence was provided showing over 40% of buyers are Chinese. This evidence was then laughed at and totally ignored.

by Groen_mamba | 8th Mar 16, 2:12pm 1457399578

I missed that, please provide again

by CJ099 | 8th Mar 16, 3:31pm 1457404302

That was before Oct 2015, I'm talking about now! Where is the evidence that the Chinese Investors are back?

by SpaceX | 8th Mar 16, 5:56pm 1457412992

80% and 75% clearance rates this week.

I asked for a database to be set up of buyers but instead we spent the money on a failing tea towel flag debate

by CJ099 | 8th Mar 16, 9:47pm 1457426876

So no real evidence to bank on in regards to Chinese Investors appart from some success auction results due to Vendors being more realistic. Though I do agree with you, that the proposed replacement flag does look more like a tea towel or bath mat.... A bit sad really.

by Mastery | 9th Mar 16, 6:36am 1457458618

spacex
if 40% buyers are chinese
could you explain who are speculating in current market， kiwis or chinese？
people who sold their properties for surpreme dollors in today's market are coming back saying they care about the next generation is because they sold at top and they would like to see the market fall.
Current housing market is in bubble, people jump in and people jump out, they are taking their own risk, market could fall,and market could rise. People who make negative comments about oversea buyer are mainly two types
1 sold their properties too early
2 do not have any properties and looking to buy

If 40% Chinese buyer is true, I feel sorry for those Chinese because they are competing between themselves to push te price up, free up top dollor for retirement fund for local kiwis who owned properties.
The majority here see Chinese buyers as fish, they would like to Catch the fish without fishbait

by Machiavelli | 8th Mar 16, 3:25pm 1457403937

Only 80% clearance in Auckland?! Yep, things are definitely slowing down.... But on a serious note I am surprised by Tauranga results. It suggests to me vendors expectations have gotten ahead of what buyers are prepared to pay. For investors looking at similar level of yield Auckland is preferable to Tauranga.

by Zachary Smith | 8th Mar 16, 3:44pm 1457405065

That's exactly what I thought. Vendors expectations are too high, probably 50% or more over CV and buyers are balking. This would seem a natural development and as is probably happening in Auckland vendors are realizing they have pushed it to the limit and are dialling back a bit. We are still seeing few houses with an asking price and I would wager few vendors willing to sign up to a contract that is conditional on a buyer selling. When that happens I will know the market in Auckland has returned to 'normal".

by Property Leader | 8th Mar 16, 5:13pm 1457410405

Holy smoke. Are you saying Harcourts did not sell any properties at all in Nelson.

by Zachary Smith | 8th Mar 16, 6:08pm 1457413726

Okay, it was quite tiring but I went through most of the sales and compared the sale price with current CV using GIS Viewer. I may have made the odd mistake so do your own check. These are my results. Some are eye watering with one 850K over CV. Only found one under CV and that was plaster but still got a good price considering.

Figures in thousands CV/SalePrice. Conclusion Market is hot.

102 Shackleton 1203 1601
60 View 1150 1545
17 Bob Craig 680 740
112 riverton 495 590
151 Chamberlain 530 683
7 Leewood 780 1004
1/79A Udys 560 836
62 Bradbury 920 1750
20 Coates 600 880
1 Redcoate 750 980
79 Udys 800 836
1/18 Cliff 430 670
93 Clevedon 325 666
79 Wordsworth 370 525
40 Harrington 450 680
24 Marie 600 846
1/38 Elliot 510 661
2/38 Bayswater 1000 900 (Plaster)
12 glenwood 710 1000
63 Kowhai 1250 1758
21 County 830 1195
3 Noeleen 710 990
18 Creamer 830 1502
2 Mawson 680 975
64 Ayton 710 841
1/27 Walter 630 815
4G/121 Newton 410 570
1/11 Atlantis 315 736
13A Castor 1450 1500 (Plaster and block)
88H Anzac 750 830
2/46 Channel 620 1000
2/171 Kowhai 1575 2360
67A Birkdale 730 820
7a Laser 650 800
174 Upper Harbour 2000 2750
4/5 Tui 890 1200
90 bayswater 670 930
209 Schnapper Rock 1900 2050
355 East Coast 1125 1570
40 Shelter 940 1430
14 Marsh 790 1260

by O.Farr-Kinnell | 8th Mar 16, 8:29pm 1457422173

Oh bless the happy new owners. I'll just sit this dance out ,thank-you.

by Independent_Observer | 8th Mar 16, 8:36pm 1457422617

The CV's are eye watering, without even considering the sale prices.

by BadRobot | 8th Mar 16, 9:53pm 1457427227

How old are the CV's. Using auction data is not necessarily a good indicator of price. Is there a bias to which houses go to auction and it is only one data set. To reach the conclusion that market is hot says more about you than it does about the market - it's called confirmation bias - (or it could also be the Dunning Kruger effect).

The truth will only be evident with hindsight.

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible" - Stuart Chase

by Zachary Smith | 9th Mar 16, 5:56am 1457456212

CV is 2014. Auction data is an excellent indicator of price because that is actually what these houses sold for on the day. 80% of a fairly large amount of properties hitting the reserve figure is a significant indicator that houses are easy to sell in the current market. Most houses in Auckland go to auction these days.

by ex agent | 8th Mar 16, 6:32pm 1457415175

Let's wait for the REINZ report. It looks at the big picture, not just the auctions. My sources are saying a lot of Auckland vendors are getting no interest in their homes and are getting very frustrated as they need to sell in order to move on. This is as reported last month.

by SpaceX | 8th Mar 16, 8:02pm 1457420539

And yet Baleys and Harcourts just recorded 75 and 80 percent clearance rates.

by BadRobot | 8th Mar 16, 9:42pm 1457426568

So .... how many houses are for sale compared to auction sales. The auction sales may be the only sales made in the month. Its a bad use of statistics.

by SpaceX | 8th Mar 16, 9:51pm 1457427090

Possibly. I do see Interest.co.nz and the Herald in full damage control mode atm.

by BadRobot | 8th Mar 16, 10:06pm 1457427962

That is my point about this site being a fraud - instead of good quality reporting - we get rubbish - opinion presented as fact - don't scare the natives type stuff. Mind you I haven't seen much good reporting in NZ in years.

It's like John Key - he can't say the dairy industry is munted - its all a confidence thing.

Stop drinking the Kool Aid.

by Cowpat | 8th Mar 16, 11:32pm 1457433179

BadRobot you may have circuit boards removed and join others in oblivion who questioned . Many have tried . My favourite was ' ostrich' who disappeared .

by bloodymigrant | 8th Mar 16, 10:37pm 1457429858

I been saying that market will go up , still good time to buy in Auckland!!

by xelnaga | 9th Mar 16, 3:41am 1457448063

I wouldn't put it past them to manipulate what's going up for auction to make the results look better.

There is a concerted push to talk up the market going on at the moment and absolute drivel turning up in the media.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Mar 16, 6:03am 1457456599

I have crunched some of the Harcourts numbers. The things I do for you guys!

I chose 39 Auckland properties on the list. Excluded lifestyle blocks and the two plaster homes I could see. Of course I excluded homes I couldn't find the 2014 CV for. Basically the list above.

Total sale price was 42,875,000 and total CV was 30,868,000 giving us an average of 38.89% over CV.

That is almost 40% over CV!

by xelnaga | 9th Mar 16, 6:23am 1457457807

So what you are breathlessly trying to tell us is that it's a horrific asset bubble?

by sharetrader | 9th Mar 16, 8:14am 1457464486

that's a lot of untaxed profit, time it was taxed, there is your money to pay for the infrastructure Auckland needs

by Zachary Smith | 9th Mar 16, 6:38am 1457458729

Not an asset bubble. Rent can cover mortgage in some cases. Properties you want to own for yourself you will have to pay more for.
Auckland represents fantastic value for money. Literally millions of fairly wealthy people around the world want to come here to live, work, study and bring up families.
New Zealand is a glorious lifeboat in a sea of troubles and Auckland is the super city.
Remember how in the old days they used to mock Kiwis for claiming, "We don't know how lucky we are!" ?
Well, it is true and the mockers were idiots.

by ex agent | 9th Mar 16, 7:25am 1457461531

I do not like the way you and Gordon are using the word " idiot" Zachary. At the same time I have to challenge your assertion that millions want to come and live in our wet, traffic congested city that has limited public transport. And no soul like Wellington. If I had no family here I would leave.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Mar 16, 7:47am 1457462857

Your family love it then?

Mercer Quality of Living Survey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_Quality_of_Living_Survey

Auckland #3 in the Universe. Wellington #12

by gordon | 9th Mar 16, 9:12am 1457467924

I am sure ex agents family are like a lot of New Zealanders. They live in the city they were born but would rather live somewhere else. The thought of leaving family and what you know is hard to overcome for most people. Last year I spent two weeks in California. Now they have a wonderful climate and beautiful uncrowded beaches and the cost of living is so much cheaper. Auckland has its charms but so do many other cities in the world.

by Andrewj | 9th Mar 16, 9:20am 1457468426

But thats just looking at California as an outsider looking in. You need to talk to my youngest children who went to high school there, about the problems they face with drugs, unemployment, inequality,homelessness,immigration, etc, window dressing on the outside, big problems behind the curtain.
They were talking about how many times the school had a lockdown, they just laughed about it, but happened all the time with armed sheriff's on the grounds, a long way from school in NZ or the UK, but a great education all the same.

by gordon | 9th Mar 16, 9:40am 1457469649

Andrew I could not agree with you more. Remember I am talking as a retired 60 year old who was there on vacation.The weather was stunning. 14 days of no rain nor wind. Food, clothes and gas were cheap. The people were very friendly. I was in Orange County which is better to live in than some of the areas of LA. Beaches like Newport, Laguna, Huntington and Santa Monica are just stunning. To have a yacht there would be something special. Auckland is a great city no argument. It just needs better weather, some public transport additions and some more roading. All but one can be fixed with money.

by Andrewj | 9th Mar 16, 10:21am 1457472111

Mate just purchased a 57 boat built in 1987 but refitted, moved to road harbour British Virgin Islands, he tells me life is ok.

http://marinas.com/view/overview/638_Road_Harbour_Road_Town_Tortola_Bri…

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1979/Swan-57-2814940/Sweden

by gordon | 9th Mar 16, 11:11am 1457475113

Andrew it certainly looks very nice. I wonder what the cost of living would be for a very humble retired person like myself.

by Andrewj | 9th Mar 16, 11:21am 1457475669

The pension should do it, should add a few years to your life too, all that fresh fish. No cars, no rates etc, but my wife's uncle tells me his yacht is like running a lawnmower with a permanently buggered bearing. He is always hearing something that needs fixing, but he loves it. He lives on a military pension form the UK.

by xelnaga | 9th Mar 16, 7:42am 1457462562

Well I guess we have the leading candidate for the comedian of the year award.

by ex agent | 9th Mar 16, 6:53am 1457459628

So the CV 's are out of date and the market is down 10 per cent from its highs and those who bought last year before October are out of pocket. Simple really . Thanks Zachary. Good work.

by buzby | 9th Mar 16, 7:08am 1457460511

Zachary why are you spending so long on here? If you were that confident wouldn't you just be going about your daily business? Most of us on here are pretty uncertain and trying to get new insights I reckon. Uncertain times....

by Zachary Smith | 9th Mar 16, 8:30am 1457465404

I study things. I spent hours going through the figures. I find links for you. I even attend auctions so I can report back to readers. I call people out for spouting nonsense. I try to ~~represent the positive side of the readership~~ be positive. Positive people are in the minority here. I do actually bring facts to the table.
But I know it is annoying so I will tone it down.

Vote me up if you want me to stay. I will listen to the people!

by skudiv | 9th Mar 16, 8:12am 1457464333

All we want to hear, is confirmation of what we already believe. Same as it ever was.

by Dale Smith | 9th Mar 16, 8:24am 1457465053

Well then listen to this, the only side of readership you should profess to represent is your own.

And if you are really interested in facts, the Mecer index that you quote is used to set remuneration levels for high paid overseas tansferee's . Any city that uses the Mercer index as the measure of success of 'its' ability to provide its local residents with true 'satisfaction of living' is not fit to govern.

How about a survey that asks the people that live there what they think?

by gordon | 9th Mar 16, 9:21am 1457468491

Zach I suspect you are a complete fraud put on this site by the site itself to stir up property sites and get responses. No one could be so blind to the truth as you. The truth is the Auckland market has had a great run but times are a changing. 8.2 % down since October and getting worse by the month. In these times you need to be flexible and take some money off the table. All those people who say they are long term investors and never sell are falling themselves. One should never fall in love with any particular asset. Taking a profit at the right time is not a bad thing to do.Those investors who sold some assets mid to late last year have done very well. The REINZ should confirm this week that the Auckland market is down 10% since October. If you had sold a property for say $1.2 million last year that is $120,000.00. If you sold two of them that is $240,000.00. Sums of money not to be sneezed at. It certainly saves borrowing a lot of money if you are back on the market today. I certainly would not advise that as the momentum in Auckland is down percentage wise to a figure I would hesitate to guess at.

by buzby | 9th Mar 16, 11:39am 1457476757

Positive to some, negative to others. Please do stay though. A bit of annoying livens things up

by Smalltown | 9th Mar 16, 1:14pm 1457482474

Zach again - you sure you are an ex Brit? - I ran some of your postings thru some Graphology/Psyche software an ex spook mate gave me and it came back with the following:

....most likely NZ born, probably 1960/61. Probably from Auckland but spent some time in South Island as a child. Most likely University educated, probably worked in Finance, a lot of it overseas. Could have some unusual urges. Could be involved in politics.......

Wait on - surely not......

by DFTBA | 9th Mar 16, 1:26pm 1457483183

unusual urges?
.
blimey, that's very specific psych software....

by Zachary Smith | 10th Mar 16, 7:28am 1457548137

I see what you did there. However the analysis does actually score a few hits.