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Barfoot and Thompson reports house sales down 23% in August, while average price fell 4% to NZ$510,978

Barfoot and Thompson reports house sales down 23% in August, while average price fell 4% to NZ$510,978

Auckland's biggest real estate agency group Barfoot and Thompson has reported it sold 637 properties in August, which was down 23% from the same month a year ago.

Barfoots blamed uncertainty in the economy and concerns about South Canterbury Finance for the weak sales and the move to a 'buyers market'.

About a third of all property sales in New Zealand are from Auckland, with Barfoots' market share in Auckland around 43%. Barfoots was responsible for about 14% of sales nationally in July.

The REINZ is due to report national sales figures on Tuesday September 14, while Quotable Value is due to report its housing value index for August next Thursday September 9.

The figures may surprise some who have argued Auckland's housing market has been stronger than the rest of New Zealand in recent months.

Barfoots said its average sale price was NZ$510,879, which was the lowest in six months and down 4% from NZ$532,023 a year earlier. It was also down 4.4% from July.

Volumes were down from 644 in July and down from 665 in June to their lowest level for any one month since February 2010.

"Auckland continued to tick over quietly in August, but remains stalled on winter sales levels while prices came under pressure, with the average sales price for the month falling to its lowest level since January," Barfoot Managing Director Peter Thompson said.

“Sales levels have remained constant around the 650 level for three months," he said.

“In August the market turned in favour of buyers, and the major contributor to this is the lack of choice for buyers. We are selling what we list, but throughout August there was a degree of uncertainty about the economy, compounded by the challenges South Canterbury Finance was going through, and which ultimately led to it being placed in receivership," Thompson said.

“The lack of choice shows up in the number of new listings which, at 1086 in August, was the lowest in 7 months and the lowest in 18 months if you exclude December, which is always affected by the lead in to the Christmas and holiday season."

Barfoot said it had 5626 properties for sale at the beginning of September, which was the lowest number for 7 months.

“There are buyers in the market, and we are experiencing a significant increase in the number of visitors to our web site."

“Once the coming personal and GST tax changes are behind us, and as an improving economy increases confidence, we anticipate vendors will return to the market, and prices and activity will show a modest lift as we move into summer.”

Rentals

Meanwhile, the average weekly rent reported by Barfoot was NZ$406, down NZ$2 a week on the average for July but up NZ$28 on August a year ago.

There were 728 properties rented out in August, up 1.8 percent from August a year ago, but down 6.1% from July. It said July was traditionally one of the two ‘high’ months of the year, the other being January.

Barfoot Auckland

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33 Comments

All part of B&Ts effort to educate the masses anon.....!

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Prices down 4% in 12 months?!  is that all?

At that rate it will take over 7 years before Bernards 30% fall prediction comes true.

I don't think so.

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Your maths is a bit out there Steven. If you are down 30% you actually need to climb 43% to get back where you were.

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"Stalled"...hahahaaaaaaahahaha...didn't I see an Airbus do that once into a forest!

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Dang finger...

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Poor SCF, it is now being blamed for the fall in the Auckland property market.  Those Timaru people sure have a lot of clout!  Is the poor winter weather this year their fault as well?

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Housing market in the UK and US are starting their second leg down:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty…

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/08/25/326331/us-housing-bad-to-wor…

 

Why an earth would anyone think NZ will be any different?

After all central banks have used up almost all their silver bullets (interest rate cuts).

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Buyers must now see they are in charge. Better to save for another year and watch the work of mista fear. Plenty of rentals to look at and rents falling. Wait a year and prices will be down 10%.

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''Barfoot said it had 5626 properties for sale at the beginning of September, which was the lowest number for 7 months''.

 

Strange he didnt make the 12 month comparison - well maybe not that strange. Nationwide there is a ton of unsold inventory compared to 12 months ago, see here:

http://www.interest.co.nz/charts/real-estate/houses-sale

 

In fact nationwide inventory levels are much closer to where they were when last the property market was in trouble (Aug/Sept2008) than this time last year.

So there is a ton of unsold inventory sitting on the market. Which is about to be joined by a whole lot more inventory in Spring.

And in Bizarroworld this is going to make the market stronger?

 

LOL. Barfoot must think we were all born in Timaru.

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Big LOL at the LOL

:-)

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By golly you're right prosperopink the dollar will drop as predicted. A good time will be had by all exporters without bank managers in their wallets. That jolly enough for you?

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Yes it has Bob...you gotta get into this quantum stuff mate...anything can happen!

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yeah, predictions a winner. You can't be proven wrong, and if you spin it out long enough, any potential litigates will have died off.

Crystal balls, tarot cards, tea-leaves, unlimited economic growth.........

They all work.

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Bernard .......I've got a brilliant cost cutting idea....

Monday Morning a Headline that just says........Housing and Real estate.

No story what so ever...none nada zip. I'll bet you get at least 60 hits for doing nothing.

uh uh you like yes..?

 

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Can't argue that Anonny (mk1I think) but good business is where...........etc

I do like the imagery you have conjured though.

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Love the idea. I could get the ferrets sponsored. I bet Telecom has some spare money

cheers

Bernard

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Now your thinking Big B. although full credit to nonny on the ferret action.

Also If you can squeeze the time off from grinding Hubbo's bones have a look at Mark Hubbards reappearance on the Say Sorry thread.

He's got some  innovative ideas on how we could jazz things up round here...(although a little old hat)............ so I gave em a tweak.

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Too bad that unlike those landlords' mortgages, rents are shackled to the reality of what people earn.  So yeah, they might be able to go up long-term, on the condition that every worker is issued with a magical guinea-pig that craps banknotes.

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i think i can see a light ????

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tunnel vision

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jeez..it's "pants-down" wally without his CAPLOCK on!

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I believe you predicted 15-20% drop last year. Or was it year before?

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I see granny herald has revamped their online property pages to remove residential property as a discrete section thereby burying all the bad news stories in time for the important first spring weekend marketing splurge.  Can't have all those expensive prepaid ads being devalued can we guys.  Fail.  The good ship is going down.

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Lotsa rebuilding activity in Christchurch now...could last well past the election...all paid out of insurance companies too...a real spring construction sector boom and ...oh bugger..where have all the builders gone!

Engineers to discover why brick walls fell off buildings..walls that should have been ripped off years ago...architects to redesign replacement structure..hopefully not using the plans last used to build rotten rubbish...all the suppliers gearing up to be first in...truckies and labourers..the hard hat makers too...Roofers and concrete blokes ...all that steel reinforcing the council will now demand must be used...NO more bloody brick that's for sure.

Then the council will change some wording on the red tape and that will be the end of any other brick facades in the city. More demo work followed by rebuilding stage two....this could last five years at least. Followed by similar action from the wgtn city council when the penny drops that most of wgtn would be dust had the shake been there.

Yessir we sure is about to have us an insurance funded construction feast...soooo much employment and the re election of the govt a cert. Don't forget the chimneys!!

Notes to self: sell insurance stock at the open...buy construction sector...take ute to town and fill with bricks for garden....pay insurance Monday before premiums jump 10%!

Stop plans to buy property in Canterbury..must now about damage...liability?..must know about council and demolition orders...what damage has happened to the house/flat/apartment/highrise etc that I don't know about????

Dam...all the Canterbury builders still in town just slapped 20% on their charge out rate!

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To shake the nation, but particularly the majority of politicians and the beehive would do wonders.

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.

.. and the wall insulation just disintegrated....

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out of adversity comes diversity!

we'll donate the burgers to the fallen in the south..SCF burgers are being worked on as we speak!

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out of adversity comes diversity!

we'll donate the burgers to the fallen in the south..SCF burgers are being worked on as we speak!

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This from Trade Me:

Number of available rental properties nationally dropped 18% and demand increased 22% per listing. Accordingly average rent increased 4%, and 9% in Auckland alone.

And conclusion: If you're a tenant in these areas (Auckland and Chch), brace yourself for a further  rent rise!

http://www.trademe.co.nz/community/announcements/post/895

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Give it up already. Your bubble has burst, the free ride is over, the gravy train is no more. You backed the wrong horse, etc etc etc.

 

All that spin and hype and hot air you thrived on during the bubble days is worth exactly zero.

One ironic thing about the current situation is that the collapse of your little property fantasyland has lead to, among other things, high unemployment, which means you're going to find it very hard to get a real job now, particularly with a CV based entirely around a "work" history of buying and selling houses amongst your silly mates.

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This is interesting:

"On a dinner with Finance Minister Bill English and Treasury Secretary John Whitehead: "Both ... had given up alcohol for Lent. Perhaps I should have supported them ... but if ever I needed a stiff drink it was then."

Hahaha ... would have been more of a valid pennance had they given up the taxpayer paid for perks!  Instaed we had English excusing his behaviour as it being a "legitimate entitlement".... wonder if it would be in God's eyes, or if he ever even thought about what Jesus/God might have thought about that particular attitude of his.

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Bill English probably thinks he is next to a God, he's just a typical poltician who has a big sense of entitlement but doesn't like the common man to have any.

Power is corrupting and wherever you look, those in political power soon start working the rorts.  John Key might be an exception ?

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