In this section
Offers for readers
Follow the news from interest
The comment stream
Recent comments
- 1 of 20830
- ››
Editors choice
- 1 of 295
- ››
Finance sector jobs
Lead from the front utilising your strategic, technical and leadership qualities within th...more
New Zealand
Lead from the front utilising your technical expertise in this highly attractive senior li...more
New Zealand
Customer focus, high performance, exceeding client expectations and achieving profitable g...more
New Zealand
Key leadership position in the bank. Be a part of one of the fastest growing banks in New ...more
New Zealand
The news stream
Latest news
Most commented
- Govt eyes NZ$1.4b revenue grab 63
- English defends current account blowout 61
- 90 seconds at 9 am 51
- Budget 2012 reactions 45
- Thursday's Top 10 with NZ Mint 38
- Friday's Top 10 with NZ Mint 34
- What covered bonds mean for ma and pa 32
- Westpac and ASB change rates down 26
- 'Next 5-10 years make or break for NZ' 26
- 90 seconds at 9 am 22
Most viewed
Harcourts NZ CEO sees Feb, March sales "significantly ahead" of Dec, Jan
One of New Zealand's top 5 real estate agency groups, Harcourts New Zealand, has signalled an improvement in sales volumes in February after surprisingly low sales figures for the industry in January.
Harcourts CEO Bryan Thomson said early February figures suggested an encouraging level of activity this month and in March.
"So we expect to see February and March being significantly ahead of December and January. Initial February sales figures are certainly encouraging," Thomson said.
There is also a larger pool of buyers coming through, he said.
Industry-wide the volume of sales for residential and rural properties slumped last month. However, Harcourts said it had drops in sales to January 2009, in two of its five regions and an increase in three (by 3% to 6%).
"Harcourts also had a 13% increase in written sales in its Central region and a 7% increase in its Wellington region, which encompasses Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, the Kapiti Coast, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wanganui and parts of the Central Plateau and East Coast districts."
Speculation about the impact of the tax reform uncertainty might be evident in February figures, Thomson said.
"There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of tax reform uncertainty and other things in December/January and there is no doubt the final February figures are eagerly awaited to see if any ongoing trends have emerged."
58 Comments
You spin me right round
You spin me right round baby,right round!
Ian ... We are avoiding
Ian ...
We are avoiding commenting on property today (No offence Emma).
You've just ruined it!
Ian didn't mention the "P"
Ian didn't mention the "P" word KWJohn, .......you did.
Sun is out, grass is growing.....what shall we talk about then.
That Supertramp song "dreamer, nothing
That Supertramp song "dreamer, nothing but dreamer.." kept on playing in my head... I am going nut!
Fair cop WAS, ummmmm...... something
Fair cop WAS,
ummmmm...... something not using the 'P' word ummmmmmm.... errrrr.............
I might not laugh so
I might not laugh so much if it were not just another real estate spin machine keeping the ol line a goin' to drag in a few new suckers. HaHa
Great to see the regulation
Great to see the regulation and professionalisation of the Real Estate Industry is paying off.
All of the those suffering dillusional bouts have been removed from the industry.
I think Barfoots report was
I think Barfoots report was far more accurate. Increase in listings but a slowdown slightly in sales.
A leading question, would a
A leading question, would a certain Mr Bryan Thomson be considering buying a residential property for himself, at this present moment? I seriously very much doubt it. More SPIN from one of the Titanic night watchmen, peering through the binoculars on the ship's bridge, ignoring all the icebergs, at their peril.
FFS, these guys certainly know
FFS, these guys certainly know how to shovel it
Compared to January, sales volumes for February have increased every year for the past decade. On average, February sales volumes are up 30% on January , simply due the entire country being on holiday for 1/2 of January.
So to say that volumes are "significantly ahead" is a home goal, the crunch will come when REINZ publish the data, and if it does not rise by over 40% its will mean 2010 sales are below 2009 levels.
Data for past years is available here
http://www.reinz.org.nz/reinz/index.cfm?C0987AB9-F9D5-D36A-EED8-BAC1BA48...
home goal? do you mean
home goal? do you mean own goal?
err. yip., damn fat fingers
err. yip., damn fat fingers
"a large pool of buyers..."
"a large pool of buyers..."
Not picking on Harcourts but agents are always harping on about this super eager "pool of buyers" they have.
No they don't. They act for sellers. They have sellers on their books.
What they should be doing is going out to the general public and saying "You know what, I have heaps and heaps of sellers at the moment come take your pick".
well i can see heaps
well i can see heaps of for sale signs springing up, i hope that is a sign of confidence, although for some it will not be. the interesting thing will be to see if there are sold stickers on them in a month or more...
I think all the R.E
I think all the R.E agents haven't got much to do other than sitting in the sun and drink (cheap) alcohol. Hence all sorts of rubbishing talk..
Dear President of Property, My
Dear President of Property,
My sister in law ,who lives in Sydney, put her rental property on the market when she came back to Auckland at christmas. She read that it should only take her 33 days to sell it. She hasn't received any offers yet. What should she do?
wow! this is brilliant Bryan.
wow! this is brilliant Bryan.
doesn't it all just mean that the Feb sales numbers are going to be the second worst on record?
let's just face it - who in their right minds is going to buy a house right now unless they absolutely have to?
PoP - indeed, it will
PoP - indeed, it will be interesting to see if they sell.
A massive number of houses have shown up for sale in the types of area I look - I don't think its reflected everywhere. The central AKL property press is ENORMOUS.
I think the Harcourts dude is confusing number of listings coming in his door with potential sales. They might not all sell...
PoP.... from the bridge on
PoP.... from the bridge on the Titanic, I can see an iceberg looming on the horizon, so should I change course or just carry on regardless...... I know, I know property is an ever appreciating asset, so there's my answer. SHEEZ !!! what was that noise ! ... oh no, it's the iceberg ripping through the hull ... didn't see that coming, did we ?
it actually gets tiring having
it actually gets tiring having to read the nonsense these real estate bosses pump out!
here it is not even the end of Feb and already Thomson of Harcourts is trying to convince us that the markets on the upswing?
it's just piffle...that other Thompson at Barfoots isn't much better.
at least Alistair Helm of realestate.co.nz is a bit more realistic and honest with the facts.
i know of a house in a good area that was listed and sold for the asking price within 5 days with 4 competing offers...bu this was a beautifully presented home at a realistic price...that formula will always work irregardless of the market.
Just wish these real estate twats would grow up and stop confusing the market place.
Get a perm , Mr Thomson....
The coast is toast. We've
The coast is toast.
We've known it for a while now but was interesting to see it first hand.
The weather was crap so I went driving around Whitianga (North) - I counted houses "For Sale" per kiilometre. In one area (half suburban density and half lifestyle block) I counted 36 "For Sale" signs in the space of 11km road length.
It is a mystery to
It is a mystery to me although many economists (Bernhard included) suggesting, moving/ expanding into the real economy, why in this blog issues around Real Estate/ property/ housing markets are dominating daily.
I ask when does the necessary economic culture changes happening not only within the circles of politicians but among experts and the public also and how important is it for us ???
Walter
@KW John,sorry mate bin offline
@KW John,sorry mate bin offline somewhile!But,anyway,I wouldnt have bin able to stop meself.Thers spin,then there is RE spin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)Just another observation-sold signs in the Tron,agents putting 2 sold stickers on boards-wonder if they are counting these as well!!
"One of New Zealand’s top
"One of New Zealand's top 5 real estate agency groups, Harcourts New Zealand,"
I guess this means they are the 5th biggest. I'm in the top 93,431 in the virtual Super 14 comp!
Walter - Culture changes with
Walter - Culture changes with the right stimulation.
Social engineering can take a few years to make cultural change.
However, a market movement like the 1987 stock crash changed the culture over the weekend.
Essentially markets and culture are the same thing - people. Highly unpredictable.
so will the Harcourts ceo
so will the Harcourts ceo fall on his sword if he's wrong?
He won't be able to
He won't be able to afford a sword if he's wrong, steven..
@W. Kunz: because property gambling
@W. Kunz: because property gambling squeezes out the real economy so until its decimated the real economy has little scope? i did comment the the dollar dropping was good btw!
regards
Darkest, i will make him
Darkest, i will make him a sharp pointed wooden stake for free
Decimated ( as in 1/10th
Decimated ( as in 1/10th thereof), steven! And I thought Bernard was bearish.
@ Darke(s)t before Dawn i
@ Darke(s)t before Dawn
i suggest your sister-in-law lowers her expectations on the days to sell as it is an average, and focus more on why it has not sold yet. either the marketing is crap and not enough potential buyers are even aware of it being for sale, or everyone already knows its for sale, in which case it is probably overpriced (get a valuation but don't chisel the number in stone- it is at best a guess, but at least an educated on)
also, being that she has listed at the prime Christmas holiday lull, she is probably only now getting close to the exposure of a house that sells early or 'on time'
is it rented - is there any income - or holding costs.... these need to be considered. no point in holding out for another 5 grand if it costs another 10 k in interest - which brings me to this too - are there break fees on the existing loan if it is sold now? no point getting another 5 grand for an early sale if the break cost of selling is more than that, sometimes rushing is expensive too...
hope that helps
But without a culture change,
But without a culture change, we are obviously going nowhere. Are we stupid ?
Thanks for the "s" and
Thanks for the "s" and the answer ,President of Property. In case you were wondering, it was a genuine question. I have referred Charmaine to this website and suggested that she simpley "take it all in, and make up her own mind". Thx, again.
Nicholas - Decimated means to
Nicholas - Decimated means to remove 10%, not 90%. Every 10th centurion got the chop when the boss was not satisfied with their pillaging or whatever.
Thank you, Pete. I knew
Thank you, Pete. I knew it had something to do with hacking and chopping and 1/10th. It just seems 1/10th reduction doesn't fit with general usage. We live and we learn.
More snake oil keeping the
More snake oil keeping the cogs of the great NZ property ponzi scheme machine running.
Yes - I'd say predominantly
Yes - I'd say predominantly the pop is fairly ignorant of things that aren't in the mainstream media.
Culture will only change when we see it in the 6 o'clock news.
I'm very ignorant of dentistry - i don't read alternative dentistry media
Major infrastructure failures such as
Major infrastructure failures such as the one's from Telecom, Public Transport and others can not be fixed by many thousand's, clever Real Estate agents. We must remodelling our economy.
Do you guys actualy read
Do you guys actualy read articles or just copy/paste from your previous comments?
When RE people talk positive it's spin, skew, RE mob, scam...last month they reported 10% drop and they were all so good.
This site should change name to "first home loosers" or "Missed oportunities club"
Adrian - PoP has been
Adrian - PoP has been probably been the most accurate pundit that comments here. I suspect that your ignorance of dentistry could be malignant. Best get it checked out.
@Paulr ... you comments leave
@Paulr ... you comments leave me a bit dumbfounded, considering I have my foot in both of the residential property "pies", as an investor and a renter, so I see both sides of the fence. Also I worked in the RE industry, so I am totally aware of the "spin" that spews forth and it won't stop either... their perception of the market is totally one of self interest, that's why I ignore or "lampoon' their comments, as that is what they justly deserve. In fact, the more they open their mouths, the more I start laughing !
My point on this blog is to point out to my fellow NZer's is that things are not what they seem and there ARE forces from overseas mainly that will topple this property 'ponzi' scheme .. just like in so many other overseas OECD countries. Tell me what makes NZ so different, which is my major point.
So refering to the good folks (even POP) on this blog as "first home loosers" or "Missed oportunities club" is grossly unfounded and disrespectful.
Have a nice day :)
pop is short for population.
pop is short for population.
Only floss the ones you don't want to lose.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=looser
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=looser
I think we all know
I think we all know that reporting on medians and averages and comparing last month to this month and then last year to this year is all as meaningless as trying to predict the market.
Buyers and sellers are mainly focused on their own individual situations when buying or selling property in any case. So who cares? Why put housing under the microscope? Why not focus on how we can lift NZ incomes rather than trying to put the boot into housing?
As a side, I bet during the recession of 1987 everyone said, oh its a bad time to buy things will go down further. Maybe they did in 1988, but 5 years later different story. Why would buying today be any different?
The amount of debt, JT.
The amount of debt, JT. It's all about net debt.
Have Real Estate big chesses
Have Real Estate big chesses ever got it wrong? You read what they predict, but if they get it wrong you don't, or do they never...?
@Gibber yes, I did wonder
@Gibber yes, I did wonder about the spelling of that "L" word.. love the 'urban dictionary'definition of the 'oo' version, I should of corrected it in my blog, cheers
My neighbours put their Northland,
My neighbours put their Northland, Wgtn. house on TradeMe last week.
It was in fair condition.....valuers had it at $420K.
Within 24 hours they had an offer at $455 and the phone still ringing off the hook...
Understandably, they're stoked. The settlement is in 4 weeks.
I guess the issue is that yes, there may be dark clouds on the horizon......but right now half-decent houses seem to be selling quickly.
Pre 2000 the market was
Pre 2000 the market was a stable balance of new home buyers, and long term investors with rentals.....
Then the lending rules and and tax breaks created a totally alien and speculative market.
And as we all know the basic principals that existed for decades went out the window.
2008 rolled over and the market again totally changed.
2010 is here talk of reeling in the market (2000 to 2008 period) and again the type of buyers and sellers and their motivations still are very different from the decades pre 2000 and the periods above.
Each of the periods have different types of homes sort after, being sold, motivations to buy and sell and different type of buyers and sellers.
The real estate industry is like a farmer who produced wool, going into venison and basing his market assessment on milk powder prices.
Question on break fees for
Question on break fees for selling early: If you have the majority of your loan on a fixed term but its at low interest rate 6% and the interest rates have now gone up - is there a significant break fee?
Or is it just if the rates go the other way ie; you got in for 6% but they have fallen to 4%.
Ray I would be questioning
Ray I would be questioning the valuation report
What's their TradeMe link, Ray?
What's their TradeMe link, Ray? Let's all have a look-see.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/23/real_estate/underwater_rates_ris
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/23/real_estate/underwater_rates_rise/index.htm
After thought, Ray: Didn't someone
After thought, Ray:
Didn't someone on here state that the Real Estate laws that came into force last November required the vendors of a property to obtain a valuation before going to market? Or maybe that's just if one uses an agents? Regardless, if I was lashing out $450k or more, I'd be asking if the vendors had obtained a valuation, and what it was!
Psst: John, re your link....we and the Aussies are different.
Nic- they've removed the listing
Nic- they've removed the listing as an offer has been accepted.
Basically, they approached a local agent who said he could expect to get $420K. They were happy with this figure but not with the 5% commission...they're both sales-people so listed themselves at a very optimistic $455K.... then whammo.....massive interest in the property straight away...... done deal....$35k more than they hoped....
Go figure.
It happens, Ray! I'm not
It happens, Ray! I'm not suprises at rejecting 5%! In Aussie the most I ever paid was 2.5%, and even here 3.5% after all the tiering that applies.
Paid 2% in UK, then
Paid 2% in UK, then vat(gst) on top. Advertising thrown in.
Legal fees almost insignificant in comparison.
The quality of NZ housing
The quality of NZ housing stock v buyers expectations. The two just don't match. There are houses that don't have a hope of ever selling at RE Agents optimistic guestimates.