Talking Real Estate
Merry Christmas to Everybody!
Hi folks,
Welcome to my last column for 2009 in what has been an interesting and mixed year for real estate in Upper Hutt. As regular readers will know, the real estate statistics I utilise take a few weeks into the next month to come through, so it is the 23rd December when you read this but I only have November figures.
A Prediction About the Property Market
Hi folks,
So about 2 weeks ago I heard a real estate commentator on TV3 news telling the world that as a result of sales of property in September throughout New Zealand that the market is back to where it was at the corresponding time in 2007, the peak of the market. His comments were very likely edited so it was unclear but I suspect that he was talking about the Auckland market which is very different to our Upper Hutt market.
People’s Feelings Around Property Won't Change
Hi folks,
So it looks like we are nearing the end of the recession according to commentators in the media and Alan Bollard the Reserve Bank Governor. Isn’t it nice that we finally have some good news. But hold on what’s this? On September 10th Mr Bollard says that we shouldn’t buy houses?? What on earth is that about?
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Upper Hutt and the National Trend
Hi folks,
I thought it was interesting to note a positive change in the housing marketplace over the last week. It has been reported that the average time to sell a property has fallen sharply from this time last year. Nationally houses took 37 days to sell in July down from 58 in July 08, this is the biggest year on year improvement since 1991 when records began.
Expats, Restructuring and the Wellington Real Estate Market
Hi folks,
At the time of writing the Real Estate Institute have not released July’s figures so I’m not going to address the Upper Hutt market but will look at the Wellington market as a whole over the last few months and see how if we can gauge where things are heading.
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Mortgagee Sales
Hi folks,
Last week I sold a property by mortgagee auction in Riverstone, my first experience of a mortgagee sale in New Zealand. Recently there has been a surge in such sales around the country, indeed a few years ago with prices rising it seemed a great idea to buy a few investment properties, after all the rent will pay the mortgage, then later you can enjoy the capital gain. It seemed a good idea at the time.
Looking at the Sales Figures
Hi folks,
Lies, lies and damned statistics, I love that phrase, especially as I look forward to the aforementioned statistics coming out every month. So why bring this up after 2 years of foisting my musings on you and utilising the same statistics to show you what the market is really doing?
The Residential Property Market: Has It Turned a Corner?
Hi folks,
Today I would like to discuss the property market as a whole rather than focus solely on Upper Hutt, it is apparent that there is some positive feeling back in the property market after what feels like a very long period of negativity, this is based on my own (local) experience, and conversations with agents in Auckland after my recent break there and also what has been reported in national media over the last few weeks. With 4 consecutive months of declines in new listings, the residential property market seems to have turned a corner. Whilst there is no expectation of a resurgent boom in the market, what is likely to be seen is more of a cautious pace of activity maintained over the winter as buyer demand is challenged by pockets of real shortages of listings.
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Good News for Vendors
Hi folks,
Interesting times in the property market still, I have been reading over the latest sales statistics from the real estate institute regarding Upper Hutt and they are sending some positive messages out. The really good news for vendors is that prices appear to have stabilised with the median selling price up to $320,000 in May from $313,500 in April. However this is well down on May 08s median price of $339,500.
"Perception is Reality"
Hi folks,
There is a saying that I pretty much use every day about real estate, and that is “perception is reality.” If someone believes something then it must be true, no ifs or buts, that’s simply the way it is. As an example ask 4 different Hurricanes fans who their player of the year is and you will likely get 4 different answers (ok, maybe not for this year when Ma’a Nonu has been absolutely outstanding) All four fans will have a compelling argument about why their player is the best, they may listen to other arguments why a different player is the best but they will not change their opinion, their perception is their reality.