Category Archives: Real Estate Agent News

• New figures reveal scale of slump in the property market.

House sales in Auckland have slumped by almost 30 per cent over the past year as tighter lending conditions take their toll on both first-home hunters and cash-starved investors.

The latest round of loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions from the Reserve Bank are affecting investors, but banks have also tightened lending criteria – making it harder for all borrowers to get finance.

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The Reserve Bank said its loan-to-value ratio restrictions are helping to cool the Auckland housing market. Photo / Michael Craig

You may be surprised to hear that house prices are still rising across New Zealand.

According to the Real Estate Institute – a member organisation for real estate agents – national median house prices increased 6.7 per cent to $540,000 in the year to May 2017. Seasonally adjusted, this increase is 6.2 per cent.

The institute’s CEO, Bindi Norwell, says: “May’s housing activity clearly shows continued buoyant activity across a number of regions which contrasts with the continuing stability of the Auckland region.”

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According to the Real Estate Institute, national median house prices increased 6.7 per cent to $540,000 in the year to May 2017. Photo / 123RF

• Q: We’re planning to put our house on the market in spring. Is it best to use one agency to sell the property, or will we get a better result with multiple agency representation?

A: “Many hands make light work”. “The more the merrier”. “Two heads are better than one”. There are many old adages that support the idea of using more than one real estate agent or agency to market and sell a property.

It has become less common to see properties festooned with a variety of “for sale” signs, but whether you choose to work with one agency or several is all a matter of personal choice. Either way, there are a few important things to bear in mind.

Both options require the signing of a legal contract between you and the agency involved.

READ MORE:
* Kevin Lampen-Smith: What you need to know about agents
* Kevin Lampen-Smith: What you need to know before bidding at auction
* Kevin Lampen-Smith: Don’t rely only on supplied building reports

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• Three properties linked to the embattled Masala restaurant group have been sold for a combined $7.88 million.

The properties were among 34 sites with links to Auckland’s Masala Indian restaurant chain that were frozen by police during an investigation for alleged tax evasion and immigration-related offending.

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A property in Stanmore Bay was one of three linked to Masala which sold at auction today. Photo / Supplied

• West Auckland mother-of-two Amy Connolly’s $20-per-week rent increase last month has sparked a search for a new place to live.

She works full-time as a client administrator and pays $530 a week for a three-bedroom house. “I simply cannot afford it anymore. I would not be able to pay my rent if it was to go up any more.”

She said it was tough to find another place because many houses were let before they were even advertised.

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• More than 2800 residential units could be built along Ladies Mile, near Queenstown, an indicative master plan for the area shows.

The council’s plan covers an area of 136ha on either side of State Highway 6 and includes the under-construction Queenstown Country Club (QCC) – the only Special Housing Area (SHA) approved on the Ladies Mile to date. It will be considered by the council at its meeting this Friday.

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More than 2800 residential units could be built along Ladies Mile, near Queenstown.

• A Hamilton house that has been renovated after being decontaminated of methamphetamine now has a hefty price tag.

The Pukete home at 1 Titoki Place is back on the market, having sold at auction on March 29, 2017.

New owners Steve and Vicki Hardwick brought the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house with a double garage for $410,000 at a Lodge Real Estate auction with the intention of quickly doing it up and selling it on.

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• A multimillion-dollar villa built for one of Wellington’s most famous families is back on the market.

The Tranby homestead, built in 1904 for Herbert Kirkcaldie – son of Kirkcaldie & Stains department store co-founder John Kirkcaldie – has a rateable value of $2.1m and is for sale by tender.

The stately five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Khandallah also features a spa pool and a triple garage, replete with studio loft and bathroom.

READ MORE VIA THE DOMINION POST

• Sales are down across the country by almost 15% compared to this time last year, demonstrating Auckland’s cooling property market is spreading.

Average prices are also starting to be affected by declining sales.

In Auckland prices are down compared to 12 months ago for the first time since sales started declining late last year.

The average house in Auckland now sells for $947,809, which is well below the $1m benchmark that was set in April, and down 0.6% compared to May 2016.

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SOURCE: Harcourts

Don Ha Business Connect – 13th TV Episode!
Don Ha presents Don Ha Business Connect – a show connecting people, property and business. Don discusses recent changes in the Auckland and New Zealand property market, property financing as an important factor in the market, and interviews special guests each episode.

• Greedy Wellington landlords are fuelling bidding wars among potential tenants by exploiting the capital’s desperate rental squeeze – and there’s nothing in the law stopping them.

Veteran student renter Ted Greensmith-West said although the practice was not widespread – and many landlords were good – rogues were becoming increasingly common, and often targeted first- and second-year tertiary students.

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