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Plenty of properties being auctioned but only a third selling under the hammer

Property / news
Plenty of properties being auctioned but only a third selling under the hammer
Auction room

There was certainly plenty of activity in the auction rooms last week which had their busiest week of the year so far.

Interest.co.nz monitored the auctions of 619 residential properties around the country last week, up from 491 the previous week.

The number of properties that sold under the hammer also took a jump to 212, up from 154 the previous week.

The overall sales rate, which is the per cent of properties auctioned that sell under the hammer, also rose last week but only marginally, rising from 31% to 34%.

So far this year the sales rate has tended to remain a few points either side of 33%, meaning roughly a third of the properties being auctioned are typically selling under the hammer.

Looking at the auction results on an annual basis, interest.co.nz monitored 1851 residential property auctions over the four weeks of 3 February to 1 March this year.

Of those, 636 were sold under the hammer, giving an overall sales rate of 34%.

Comparing that to the equivalent week of last year (4 February to 3 March), when the market was heading into a prolonged slump, just 976 properties were auctioned and 362 were sold under the hammer.

So the market this year is twice as busy as it was a year ago, but the sales rate has declined slightly, from 37% last year to 34% this year.

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41 Comments

Look forward to not seeing dgm’s commentary for a few weeks as things improve. 

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9

What is improving exactly? Because it's not the clearance rate.

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30

Not sure about those figures to be honest is that like Barfoot only ? I got an e-mail from Ray White where I am and they claimed 50% of their properties were selling at auction not 30%. The sample size is now so low its worthless, there are now 1200 properties for sale here, clearly auction is not the way to go and far more properties are being sold by other methods.

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2

Which part of this article makes you so buoyant? 

Clearly you're filled with helium gas..

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24

Either helium gas or laughing gas.  

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8

longjohndrop ......answer my question in my post below ? 

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1

34% clearance in what’s meant to be the busiest time of the year in property is pretty bad. Looks like there’s a decent sized gap between vendor’s expectations and what buyers can afford to front up. 

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30

yup and you can expect that gap to close quickly over the next 6 months or probably more  - as many vendors realise they are deluded    

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20

Only a third selling at peak of the year. Ouch.

Not to mention they manipulate these statistics by withdrawing/postponing homes with no registered bidders to push the clearance rate up.

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34

Interesting that clearance rates have also declined from last year when the market was heading into a slump.

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25

Reading the commentaries, Luxon might be a one term wonder.. so in 3 years, things might head off somewhere else.

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9

There have been recent examples, especially in the last month, where two or more bidders got seriously carried away and paid - IMO - way over what the property is worth.

Sure, this happens all the time. But for any stats to be meaningful (IMO) such outliers need to be removed / adjusted. When I adjust the sales value to something more realistic, the 'percentage selling above rating valuations' look less flash. While comparing to the RE site's valuations (Homes, PV, Onewoof, etc.), it is even less flash.

My take remains - the market is moving sideways with a slight tilt towards lower in real terms. Winter? I have no firm view but I don't believe a small OCR cut will change this one bit. Rentier friendly government action might tho.

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1

I was following auctions for Central Auckland this week on this page because there were so many on the market it could give some decent data. When I looked at properties at a more normal price range based on the results on. I was looking specifically at anything with a CV between 750k-1.5mil.

In that more "normal" price range for the area, not one sold above CV (out of 15). On average prices sold for were 17% down on CV. Given auctions are probably the best chance vendors have of getting a reasonable price, I think says a bit about where the market is at right now in the city at least.

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14

Yesterday, I got the new CV for a property in Canterbury, I was a bit surprised that the valuation rose 24% (Sept 2020 - Sept 2023, but only released now)

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4

4 or 5 months is fairly fast... probably based on completed  settlements

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1

Congratulations on your rates bill increase

 

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9

Just looked up my old Wellington home, which we sold in 2005. it's now 14K/year!! And whoever there still have to pay for rubbish collection!

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2

I would have thought that you knew that rates don't increase because of a scheduled 3 yearly valuation increases.

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5

only if you live in an average house, is that you?

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It's not a house, I said "property".  But you're assumption is still incorrect.

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3

Let's just look at the FACTS.....as they happen. 

So on that note, regarding the Auckland region:  

34% sold out of 497  - so 169 properties sold 

Of those 169 properties, 31% broke even or made over the rating valuation CV – thats 51 properties out of 497 (or just under 10%) 

While that wouldn’t include cost of the sale  - RE fees/conveyancing etc, so there could be a loss there, reducing that just under 10% figure. 

So for all you property bulls out there,  with the CURRENT economic climate and the higher interest rates, give me just 3 reasons why sales (in volume and value) could go up from here ? 

 

 

 

 

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15

Are FACTS still facts or FACTS or facts or FACTS or facts or FACTS or facts or FACTS or facts or FACTS or facts or do they have to be in bold and CAPITAL and underlined and italic, to qualify as FACTS ?

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10

Yep, that's how it works around here .....don't let the facts get in the way of a spruiker's opinion  - pathetic. 

You stick with your property and the current "warped", "inflated"  system -  and I'll stick with my BTC. 

I trust the people in Crypto, way more than I would trust anyone in Credit Suisse. 

 

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11

Good for you CH, you would have done really well with Bitcoin lately!  (I'm just not sure why you seem angry in your posts)

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0

Yes BTC, ETH and other coins have done very well thank you. 

In a calm quiet manner, may I ask anyone of you, for an answer to my question in my previous post, thank you. 

I'm looking forward to some enlightened replies. 

Everyone have a very pleasant evening. 

 

 

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2

For folks like you,  it needs to be in Bold, underscored, in italics , double quotes.. and still you won't get it

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7

You mean folks who own a house and a business, unlike you ?

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4

Assuming?  Only fools do that 

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6

No, you told us !

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2

Get yourself checked 

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3

Love you too kid, I hope that when you grow up, you find peace and happiness!

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4

Facts off. 

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2

Go facts yourself!

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7

This thread is so fact up.

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2

Another interesting anecdote - the mainstream media have been awfully quiet about the property market as of late. I wonder why…

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16

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

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17

34% means every third is sold. 

The rest are town/story houses, body corporate, leaky, flooded or have potential to be, very expensive for the average buyer, houses from the 90's etc... 

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0

Where are the facts to support your in-depth analysis or is this just another one of your 'i thinks'?
'The rest are town/story houses, body corporate, leaky, flooded or have potential to be, very expensive for the average buyer, houses from the 90's etc...'

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3

I recommend FHB's read ...'The Great Housing Hijack"  Cameron. K. Murray  .... 

"The reality is that, underneath this charade, every current home and every possible future housing development project is owned by someone—the landlord investor, the speculating land banker or the housing developer—and every economic gain for them is exactly ,equal to an extra cost for a new buyer or tenant. This `owning' side of the market is driven by their desire for investment incentives so as to maximise their economic gains from the property they own; they are not interested in minimising the prices paid by renters and first-home buyers." 

"To avoid the truth that 'affordable housing' means less money for landlords and speculators of housing development sites, the property owners as a group work hard to portray their interests as, strangely enough, identical to the interests of the renter. There is a relentless and well-funded propaganda machine that makes sure that no one realises that, if there is a successful change to make housing prices or rents cheaper, they will lose billions. These groups will never propose such policy changes. They have hijacked the housing debate."

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3

Now rates are at a normal levels the average wage families have no chance of buying a home and still be able to buy essentials. The ones who did manage to purchase when rates we low will spend the coming years paying way more than they can afford, many will be in huge financial difficulties and unable to sell because prices have dropped 20% from highs. Eventually prices will drop and more people will be in negative equity this will be why the housing market is being flooded with people desperate to sell before next phase of crash gets in to full speed.

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8

I am not sure if article is good or bad news, I hope the properties sell or keep their tenants, as mentioned on a previous post I rented out my house in Te Atatu and it took less than 48 hours this weekend.  Majority of viewers mentioned their landlords are selling.  There is good tenants and interest tax deductibility is at 80% soon.  House prices flattened. In danger of being called a spruiker I just bought again and cash flow is getting better.  Did Warren B. not say buy when everyone is selling or sell when everyone is buying.

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0