Hi folks,

In my last column of 2009 I discovered that the number of sales in Upper Hutt had decreased substantially, this looks like an ongoing trend that shows no sign of reversing. At the same time we have pundits telling us that prices are up and we are back at the peak market prices. Now this may be true in Central Auckland, but it is plainly and simply not the case in Upper Hutt. We saw some price increases last year but not enough to take us back to where we were.

So what is the ongoing trend? I have totalled the house sales for 2007, 2008 and 2009 and it shows a significant drop in Upper Hutt sales. In 2007, 1031 sales took place, in 2008, 684 sales took place a drop of 347 sales and in 2009 the figure dropped again to 641. So what does this mean to someone who wants to sell? Is it a good time to sell? The answer is undoubtedly yes, as long as the property is priced well. And how do we do that? By utilising up to date sales statistics and our not inconsiderable sales and marketing experience.

Changing tack a tad, this week I received an enquiry through my website regarding different methods of sale, it’s no secret that I and my colleagues at Tommys prefer to use the Buyer Enquiry Over method but there are times when another method can be used and used well, tender is a good option if there are difficulties in valuing or the property has interesting characteristics that take it away from the norm. I have stated in this column previously that I believe there are 3 things a prospective purchaser would like to see,

• an address,
• number of bedrooms and
• a price.

Other methods just leave me cold and I can’t see the value in them and yet the argument to a vendor is “let’s take price out of the equation”. Why? That’s generally how people buy things, whether it’s a car, a house or an iceblock! And don’t get me started about auctions!!!!