Auction room activity continues to ramp up as the real estate market heads into the busiest time of the year.
Interest.co.nz monitored the auctions of 496 residential properties around the country over the week of 15-21 February, with 201 of those selling under the hammer.
That gave an overall sales rate of 41%, with 42% of the properties that sold fetching prices above or equal to their rating valuations.
The latest interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank would have been welcome news to buyers and vendors alike, but indications are that buyers continue to drive a hard bargain on price, with the high level of stock on the market working in their favour.
That is also evident in the amount of time auctioneers are spending trying to negotiate a deal behind the scenes when bidding stalls, which is stretching out the average amount of time allocated to each property being auctioned.
However, vendors who are realistic in their price expectations are generally achieving a sale.
The table below shows the latest regional results, while details of all of the individual properties offered at the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz, including the prices achieved for the properties that sold, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.
62 Comments
what is it about real estate agents
https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360585835/landlord-who-let-tenant…
I always knew they whey full of shite but this is next level
what is it about real estate agents
The bar is not high to become a REA. For good and for bad. Water cooler buddy used to joke that in the past REAs were ruddy-faced white men who were fond of alcohol. But today it's a lot more aspirational. A colleague has become reasonably successful in the game in the nicer parts of Aotearoa - a natural salesman who connects well. Used to be a DJ.
Nov 2024 similar and the spruikers weren't celebrating the poor results:
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/130688/more-properties-being-auctio…
Hummin' or Ho-hum?
Sep 21: 356, 141, 40%, 35%
Sep 28: 343, 151, 44%, 45%
Oct 5: 289, 119, 41%, 45%
Oct 12: 340, 121, 36%, 39%
Oct 19: 438, 192, 44%, 31%
Oct 26: 428, 188, 44%, 43%
Nov 2: 457, 193, 42%, 42%
Nov 9: 454, 175, 39%, 37%
Nov 16: 517, 182, 35%, 37%
Nov 30: 497, 182, 37%, 38%
Dec 7: 431, 175, 41%, 46%
Feb 8: 422, 162, 38%, 39%
Feb 15: 496, 201, 41%, 42%
At the peak, auction clearance was 70-80%, with many articles in 20–21 reporting those results:
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/107116/residential-auction-activity…
That article you link was written during the COVID madness when the froth was growing fast. Clearance rate of 70-80% have never been "normal". In 2018 a house I was selling was one of ten in an auction and only mine sold. I went to many auctions at that time too and don't recall it being that great. The clue is in the article itself:
The overall sales rate for the first two weeks of September (2020) this year was 73%, compared with 53% for the comparable two weeks of last year (2019).
Venders are chasing the more discerning buyer that's for sure. Many resident hopefuls have been caught out by how long this slump is enduring. Post the peak selling season, the usual winter lull awaits. I think more falls to come before a sustainable floor can be called..
Some will be pushed back to the sale pool. Others will be withdrawn and dumped in the rental market - pushing up vacancy rates, reducing rents, and improving tenant choice. As we have seen happening all year.
One regional market I am following has seen rental stock double - many currently available to rent are those that failed to sell over the last few months. Vendors are either having to take a big haircut on price to snaffle what few buyers there in that price range, or they have to hold on to it and hope that there are enough tenants out there who can afford the rent on a million dollar house (even at 3.5% yields).
Reading is free, posting won't be. I doubt DGM will be paying up to continue posting.
Good, solid point, Pragmatist. The DGM will find it tough paying for membership here - especially the many of them who have multiple monikers and multiple subscriptions to pay.
Finally, the angry, bombastic and petty tone of the DGM today reflects that the housing tide is turning - slowly but surely. The DGM lament it .....
TTP
That’s really rich coming from a known crook like you. https://comcom.govt.nz/case-register/case-register-entries/property-brokers-limited-and-its-sole-director-timothy-john-mordaunt
"There are people who post rarely that might decide its not worth it... I will miss them."
The key question is the quality of the commenters who choose to remain.
Will the comments section becomes similar to a primary school playground with lots of childlike behaviour?
Or will there be more commenters with interesting insight, observation, perspective and sufficient maturity to engage in an non conflicted, independent, open minded discussion of different perspectives and observations?
Time will tell.
If there are too many of the former, there will be few to no adults left in the room to talk to and then the remaining adults will leave the room.
Parents with young children may have already experienced the consequences when children self monitor.
I’ve just had a friend fail to sell his house at auction. Purchased in Nov 2021. Just barely able to service the mortgage, zero spare money they want the same price as what they paid in Nov 2021. They've decided to withdraw from the market and have another crack in spring. I’m not sure whether to tell him he’s dreamin and to meet the market as he overpaid by 250K
Nov 2021 was just below the Everest-like peak of the NZ housing market.
"I’ve just had a friend fail to sell his house at auction. Purchased in Nov 2021. Just barely able to service the mortgage, zero spare money they want the same price as what they paid in Nov 2021. They've decided to withdraw from the market and have another crack in spring. I’m not sure whether to tell him he’s dreamin and to meet the market as he overpaid by 250K"
Sorry to hear about your friend. This is the potential collateral damage of a mania in residential dwellings that many commenters were warning about on interest.co.nz. Many are owner occupier buyers on the next stage in life who happened to
1) buy at a high price
2) in order to purchase, they took on high levels of debt relative to their income.
As interest rates rose, many may have become cashflow stressed and mentally stressed due to higher mortgage payments, combined with higher insurance costs, higher costs of council rates (i.e. higher ownership costs) as well as higher costs of general living.
Now many of these households may be in further cashflow and mental stress if household incomes have fallen, with many losing a large portion of their life time savings used as a deposit to purchase their residence. Their entire future financial trajectory has changed and they will have less financial resources for their retirement.
A family friend purchased near the peak in Auckland. They stated that they will need to work beyond normal retirement age in order to repay the large mortgage outstanding on the owner occupied residential dwelling. This is the second time that they have been caught in a residential real estate mania and didn’t learn the lessons from their previous experience. I estimate that by buying today, they would be financially better off by over $800,000 at retirement.
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