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Terralink has reported there were a record 3,024 registered mortgagee sales in 2009, up from 1,303 in 2008 and 475 in 2007 as forced sales spread from failed property developers to owner-occupiers.

“Initially it was properties owned by overstretched investors and development companies that made up the bulk of mortgagee sales. As the recession deepened servicing multiple mortgages or gaining continuing access to credit became harder or impossible, and these owners were forced to sell,” Terralink Managing Director Mike Donald said in a statement.

“Later as unemployment began to rise we saw individual property owners increasingly feel the pinch. These owners often with only one property or what we think of as ‘mums and dad’ home owners made up an increasing percentage of owners that were facing a mortgagee sale,” Donald said.

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Terralink International has reported there were 287 registered mortgagee sales in November, down 4% from October but nearly double that seen in November a year ago at the trough in the housing market.

Terralink Managing Director Mike Donald said the November result was not far below the record of 343 reported in September and sales are expected to remain high through 2010, even if there is another fall in December. Owner occupiers are now increasingly being affected by mortgagee sales as banks and other financiers grind their way through an often long-winded process. Previously most sales were focused on property developers and property investors.

“We’ll probably see a dip in mortgagee sales in December too because December is a slow month for house sales overall,” Donald said in a statement released at Zoodle.co.nz

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Figures released over the weekend by Terralink International show mortgagee sales rose to a new high of 343 in September from 241 in August. September sales were up from the previous high of 321 in July.

Mortgagee listings have also been rising in recent weeks, according to data supplied to interest.co.nz from realestate.co.nz. There were 379 residential and lifestyle property mortgagee listings on realestate.co.nz at the week beginning November 22, which is the highest since 385 at the week beginning August 2. Listings are up from 303 at the end of October and their recent low of 291 in mid-September.

Over the three weeks of November, mortgagee listings on realestate.co.nz rose by 20% from 315 on November 1.

“The key change in the structure of sales (in September 2009 from a year ago) is the shift from the sales being predominantly in the major centers to provisional NZ,” Terralink said. The chart below shows the regional breakdown of sales in both September 2008 and 2009:

Your view? Will the rise in mortgagee listings over November have any effect on house prices and sales in the final months of the year?

How will the property market finish off 2009 2010?

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Alex Tarrant presents 90 seconds at 9am in association with ASB. The New Zealand dollar finished off the week below 72.5 USc as US stocks ended their week on a low note and fears about the global recovery re-emerged, Reuters reported. Talk about the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s future last week from Labour leader Phil Goff may also have had a downward impact on the currency.

Mortgagee sales in New Zealand hit a new high in September, data released by Terralink shows. There were 343 mortgagee sales over the month, which was up from the previous high of 321 in July this year.

Mortgagee listings have also been on the rise in recent weeks. Figures supplied to interest.co.nz from realestate.co.nz show mortgagee listings rose to 379 this week, the highest level since 385 at the beginning of August.

Finally, South Canterbury Finance looks set to lose ‘millions’ as a receiver sells the assets of the Oakridge resort in Wanaka, the Sunday Star Times reported. South Canterbury is owed NZ$10.49 million on the resort.

Mortgagee sales rose 25% to a record high of 251 in April or 4% of all sales as finance company receivers and banks forced bankrupt property developers and stretched property investors to sell their properties. (Updated with link to Alastair Alistair Helm’s comments and my comments below)

The figures are released by Terralink and published on Zoodle. Half of the sales were in Auckland and 60% of the owners had more than one property.

“Every month the line of the graph just keeps climbing. The fact that 4% of house sales are now mortgagee sales shows just how much the real estate market has changed and how Kiwis are being hit hard by the recession,” Terralink Managing Director Mike Donald said in a statement.

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Mortgagee sales in New Zealand hit a record 15 year high in March, figures from Terralink International show. There were 201 sales during the month, up from 42 in March 2008 and the previous record of 191 in December 2008. In February there were 124 sales.

Almost half of the mortgagee sales were in the Auckland region, with 99, up from 51 in February and 76 in January. There were 15 in Wellington (up from 7 in both February and January) and 17 in Canterbury (from 17 and 11).

The Northland region saw 19 sales, which was the same as in March last year, with the next highs being 12 in the Waikato and 11 in Otago.

Here is a link to the report on Zoodle.

Alistair Helm at realestate.co.nz explains why he thinks mortgagee sales may have peaked here.

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