Barfoot & Thompson's auction activity maintains its steady course

Property

Just over half the properties selling under the hammer at Barfoot & Thompson's auctions

31st May 21, 10:05am by Greg Ninness

Activity in Barfoot & Thompson's auction rooms finished the month of May much as it started, with the number of properties auctioned rising slightly to 218 and the sales rate steady at 52% last week.

Auckland's biggest real estate agency has typically been handling just over 200 residential property auctions a week throughout May, with the sales rate typically in the low 50% range.

Around the Auckland Region the highest sales rate achieved was for properties in Franklin at 78%, while the lowest was next door in Papakura at 33%.

The table below gives the district by district results.

Details of the individual properties offered at all of the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz and the results achieved, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.

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66 Comments

by mikekirk29 | 31st May 21, 10:15am 1622412903

NSC now 40% clearance rate. Most important barometer of activity.
Listings per day on RE NZ on Thursday were 137.
Peak was over 300 in late November.
Red Beach currently has 18 listings on RE NZ. Two years ago it was 72.
Greg recently reported on lower prices for bottom quartile.
This of course relates directly to the drop in mortgage amount being taken out by investors, which itself is small indicator compared to the impact of leveraged debt for investors now in retreat due to tax changes and banks newer policies on LVR

by house hunter | 31st May 21, 10:23am 1622413408

What is NSC?

by iconoclast | 31st May 21, 10:30am 1622413831

North Shore City

by Yvil | 31st May 21, 10:53am 1622415219

Where is the "City" on the North Shore?

by rastus1 | 31st May 21, 11:58am 1622419125

..mr orr is currently printing it.

by tothepoint | 31st May 21, 12:11pm 1622419912

Seasoned observers of the NZ housing market will have noted that it's resilient.

In fact, the word "resilient" is a commonly used descriptor of the NZ housing market.

People will continue buying property in bad times - and in good times too.

The demand for property is, in a word, "insatiable".

TTP

by Groat | 31st May 21, 1:12pm 1622423528

If the puppet master Orr hadn't removed LVR restrictions and slashed the OCR would the demand for property have been 'insatiable'. We are all being played by the elites, the wise are waking up to this fact and planning their exit. COVID is not going anywhere, holiday makers are not coming back for 10 years or more. The NZ economy is in trouble and unfortunately for Jacinda you can't sell woke.

by Small Kev | 31st May 21, 2:04pm 1622426689

“ The demand for property is, in a word, "insatiable".”

You own real estate you win, goes back thousands of years.

by iconoclast | 31st May 21, 10:36am 1622414186

If FHB = 22% of buyers and investors = 25% of buyers then who the heck are the 53% doing the buying

Downsizers?
Upsizers?
Developers?
Upgraders?
Internal migrants from the regions ?

by Carlos67 | 31st May 21, 12:45pm 1622421947

New Zealanders buy and sell far to often. 3 or 4 years is typical and then it's back on the market. No idea why people get bored I guess or change job locations or whatever. I bought a house simply because the owners said the back yard was not big enough for the kids.

by b21 | 31st May 21, 10:38am 1622414307

Many sellers and agents are now facing the reality of the market and the lower auction numbers reflect a higher number of homes on sale by negotiation.

Still open homes are a mere shadow of what they used to be just a few months ago, this weekend visited an open home where I was the only client and in a second one surprised the agent napping on the couch :) Seasonality might play a role but what's going on it is just devastating and far from anything I have seen before.

by live4ever | 31st May 21, 12:30pm 1622421051

"just devastating" - only for real-estate agents and unrealistic vendors. I think most people looking to buy - including yourself as the only client at open homes - will be welcoming this change, no?

by b21 | 1st Jun 21, 9:27am 1622496447

I agree 2000%

by Uncle Bulgaria | 31st May 21, 9:01pm 1622451660

If this is true, it ain't true for Wellington. 127 square metre 100 year old house in Hataitai just went for 1.7 mil. Auction packed with cash ready to buy at 1.5 to 1.6. Every floor in that house was on the piss. All the windows shot. Remarkable frenzy.

by b21 | 1st Jun 21, 9:41am 1622497292

A properly picked cherry is always the best looking one in the nest.

Still a lot of misinformed people around though, if you would read exclusively the herald you would not know prices were down in April.

by iconoclast | 31st May 21, 10:40am 1622414430

How the heck do young FHB's get to by a $1 million shack

Paying out
Rent $700 pw
Food $200 pw
Electricity $100 pw
Commuting and travel $150 pw

That's $1150 pw

by Jesse1 | 31st May 21, 11:40am 1622418027

They don't which is why they should be moving to Australia where their chances are much better. NZ isn't offering them much so they should leave.

by live4ever | 31st May 21, 12:34pm 1622421277

The grass is not always greener on the other side. My sister has been trying to buy her first home in Brisbane for the last 12 months and the market has been just galloping away from her in leaps and bounds.. with no sign of stopping. Eye-watering prices for some rough properties over there too...

by Jesse1 | 31st May 21, 12:53pm 1622422408

I think it is greener after having lived there for many years. It's relatively better over there than here given the incomes people have there. It's bad there but it's much worse here. You sister would have an even harder time here if she works for someone else. Lots of things are cheaper there too.

by HouseMouse | 31st May 21, 1:22pm 1622424142

Having lived in Aus for a few years, about 10 years ago, I would tend to agree, at least in terms of the financial side of the equation.
Lifestyle wise both countries have their pros and cons.

by realterms | 31st May 21, 1:17pm 1622423832

The move-to-aussie brigade does seem to overlook that they also have insane house prices, largely from the same source.

by Groat | 31st May 21, 1:22pm 1622424148

Commutable to Brisbane, 10 mins from the beautiful spit on the Gold Coast.... or pay the same to live in Timaru.... yeah, nah!!! https://m.realestate.com.au/buy/between-0-600000-in-upper+coomera,+qld+…

by CWBW | 31st May 21, 2:49pm 1622429396

Stop tricking people to move to Aussie, it's the same over there. Those who said it was good moved there sometime ago before the housing boom- it's no longer the same like it was a few years ago.

The place you mentioned, Coomera, is the equivalent of Te Puke like bolt hole in NZ. Unless you're a tradie with sustainable local orders, you'll have to look for something in Gold Coast or Brisbane which more than an hour commute one way- depending on traffic.

Let's work some simple math,

The median house price (based on the link you provided) is AUD $499,500. However, it is well known is Australia that agents frequently under-quote and in Queensland that's on average 15%.

Using this assumption, we can assume that the median real asking price is actually AUD $574,425.

Add total government fees & charges based on the above: AUD $17,249

Total BEFORE home inspection, LMI (2.180%), conveyancing and insurance is AUD $591,674

Median annual salary in QLD $84,625 -> median multiple for Coomera is 7

Total after adding conveyancing fees, home inspection, LMI and insurance, assuming LVR10 = $1,050 + $600 + $11,270 +$1,566 + $591,674 = $606,160

Conversion base costs to NZ dollar (1.06), NZD $642,530.

To top that up, you cannot use Kiwisaver at all in Australia, you have to have about NZD $78,000 in cash on top of a good 3 months worth of bank statement and a job to buy a house in Coomera.

Note: No accommodation supplements, WFF, jobseeker, disability benefits, or any other benefits for Kiwis living in Australia.

Dreams are free.

by Groat | 31st May 21, 3:04pm 1622430290

Getting worried that your prey are all about to up and leave are you? Coomera is nothing like Te Puke, it is so much nicer, the houses are well built, its commutible to Brisbane, near the new Westfield, Aldi the GC and Te Puke houses are now $200k higher than in Coomera. What will all the poor leeches feed on when young kiwis wake up and leave? Here are sold prices to blow your argument out of the water https://m.realestate.com.au/sold/between-0-600000-in-upper+coomera,+qld…

by HouseMouse | 31st May 21, 11:20pm 1622460008

Good work.
He's one of the property spruikers on here that consistent talks BS.

by Jesse1 | 31st May 21, 1:28pm 1622424533

Yes they have insane house prices which are at similar levels to ours but they have much higher incomes and other costs of living are generally lower. I was able to save three times as much in the same job from the day I moved over there. It's a no brainer for a lot of people.

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 1:36pm 1622424974

Exactly they have no idea.

I’ve lived there for 8 years and it’s no Nirvana you need a lot of money to have a decent lifestyle and EVERYTHING is far more competitive even buying a coffee is a fight.

But do go and try it.

by Groat | 31st May 21, 1:58pm 1622426338

I suspect you might never have left the North Island.

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 10:49pm 1622458158

I suspect you haven’t a flying one about the reality of the market over there.

https://amp.theguardian.com/global/2021/may/29/its-been-hell-underquoti…

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 1:16pm 1622423784

Get a decent income or a business that performs. Use Kiwisaver for 20%+ deposit.

Stop feeling entitled to a $1 Mil house when you earn $60k a year and have no savings.

by realterms | 31st May 21, 1:18pm 1622423891

Is "Lord Dowding" the most offensively condescending name you could come up with to use for this sort of posting?

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 1:26pm 1622424398

What has that go to do with my post.

Play the ball not the man amigo.

by realterms | 31st May 21, 2:23pm 1622427823

Oh I was just amused really.

NZ median income 52k, so your contention is that someone earning 115% of the median income needs to get a "decent" income and not expect much out of life?

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 10:45pm 1622457945

No need to add the 115% for dramatic effect it is in fact only 15% more than the average which is pretty low.

I would consider anything over 100k a decent income not 60. 60k is well below even an entry level income in most professional roles.

by Kjeldorian | 1st Jun 21, 4:06pm 1622520391

You mean like teachers or police?

by Luke83 | 31st May 21, 2:06pm 1622426784

$100 a week on power haha god I have a family of 5 and where around 200 to 250 a month, numbers to meet a narrative one thinks

by sadr001 | 31st May 21, 3:24pm 1622431446

My family of 3 has 2 electric cars, we run 3-5 heatpumps most of the day on most days, have an outdoor heated pool & heated spa and we would struggle to get our power bill to $100 per week. One has to wonder what he is using power on (Bitcoin mining maybe?)

by iconoclast | 31st May 21, 6:48pm 1622443703

A member of my family lived in Whangarei. He had a fridge in the house, a beer fridge in the garage, and a smoked-fish freezer in the garage. He also had electronic equipment galore in the house which was left on stand-by 24/7 when not n use. Family of 2. Monthly power bill $300

That was just 2 people. How much would it be for a household with 2 or 3 families in South Auckland

by Kjeldorian | 1st Jun 21, 7:19am 1622488757

How about by flatting and paying $200-250
Reducing food bill to $150 (our 3 person family spends this)
Electricity is $150/month no idea how you are spending that much
Commuting and travel $150 (or move closer to work)

That's $700/w

Still a lot to also have to save a 20% deposit but lets have some realistic numbers so we can have an honest conversation.

by Slapheid | 1st Jun 21, 9:03am 1622495031

You can live on $50/person/week groceries??? Eating a lot of weetbix and water, rice and tinned toms, and no purchasing toiletries and cleaning products?
"Rat au Van, Baldrick? Yes Sir, it's Rat that's been run over by a van."

by Kjeldorian | 1st Jun 21, 9:26am 1622496393

I mean one of us is a kid..
But it's really easy to reduce your food bill. We dropped it by $100 pw by cooking meals in bulk and getting more out of our meat by adding extras like chickpeas.

by Slapheid | 1st Jun 21, 12:19pm 1622506741

Its just myself and 2 teens in the house, week on/off (which is like having locusts descend on the house!) so we also do a lot of bulking out meals with spuds, chickpeas, lentils etc. We generally only buy fruit/veg and meat on special ($10/kg mince, $2-$4/kg fruit etc). Still averaging $388/fortnight, with 1-2 takeaways/month on top of that. Love Winter though, we basically live on homemade soup! Cheers for the reply and have a good week.

by Slapheid | 2nd Jun 21, 9:18am 1622582289

@ Kjeldorian. I found the "Love Food Hate Waste" website really good for basic/economical recipes when I was getting our "Home Economics" reorganized.
I got the kids to identify the meals which they liked (and were prepared to cook...)
lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/easy-choice-meal-planner/

by Nzdan | 1st Jun 21, 1:10pm 1622509852

Just looking at our statement, we spend $250 to $320 per fortnight on a bulk grocery shop which we have delivered. And then we top up an extra $50 each week in between. So $150 to $190 a week for 2 adults and a 4 year old. This includes everything (food, toiletries, cleaning products).

Excludes alcohol which I purchase separately.

by Llama_360 | 1st Jun 21, 10:01am 1622498463

My partner and I did housesitting (usually 2-3 months per sit) for about 3 years to save for a deposit. We were lucky enough to have parents we could stay with for a few days between housesits. We ended up buying a place out west 1.5 years ago for $750k.

Obviously living a transient lifestyle is not an option for everyone and I do hope (and expect) there will be a readjustment in the market so it doesn't have to be such a struggle. That being said, there are a lot of my friends who could be taking steps to improve their chances of buying a place but have made lifestyle choices which limit their opportunities.

by Averageman | 31st May 21, 10:40am 1622414420

Lowest rates ever, highest agent commissions ever, biggest run of capital gains ever, and yet the sales rate is only 52%. Are banks trying to save investors from themselves?

by b21 | 31st May 21, 10:42am 1622414566

52% of a really low total number, meaning these days agents are just taking to acution houses they really expect to be sold, which is not even happening.

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 1:18pm 1622423899

They’re all still selling after auction. Sold signs everywhere around us. Nobody lists in winter unless they have to remember.

by frazz | 31st May 21, 3:24pm 1622431452

Lots of for rent signs popping up in Remuera Lord D..?

by b21 | 1st Jun 21, 9:28am 1622496528

Yes, they leave those out for months, so not hard to find them.

by Yvil | 31st May 21, 10:56am 1622415385

I don't follow your logic Averageman ?

by Averageman | 31st May 21, 3:05pm 1622430312

The implied point is ...why are their not 100% sales in the current cheapest to borrow ever environment..?

by Mountie | 31st May 21, 6:59pm 1622444353

Because prices are now unaffordable.

by Malarkey | 31st May 21, 1:00pm 1622422837

In Japan, the world's third largest economy -- once the world's second largest -- people plead "poverty" and "recession" more than thirty years after their property bubble burst so traumatically. This despite a massive industrial base and a vast trade surplus practically since forever.
In the United States, the world's largest economy, commentators break out in a cold sweat and nervously ask "Is this another bubble?" every time a house sells for more than expected. The anxiety over The Big Short has yet to fade, and possibly never will.
Meanwhile, in NZ, a nation of 5m people and no industrial base, and whose economy is largely based on Kiwis selling their houses to each other at ever increasing prices, everybody shrieks into the wind how "Ya can't lose with houses, maaaaaate!" and "The whole world wants to live here and buy our houses, maaaate!", and "No, see, we're different and special, maaaaate!!!", while praying agriculture and tourism will be able to save the country and allow everyone to go on living the life to which they feel divinely entitled.

Good luck with your perpetual motion machine property bubble, Kiwis.

by J.C. | 31st May 21, 1:15pm 1622423751

Good luck with your perpetual motion machine property bubble, Kiwis

Unfortunately, they have no idea how this will pan out and very few of them are prepared for a worse case scenario.

by HouseMouse | 31st May 21, 1:25pm 1622424335

At some point in the next few years there will be a significant correction, if not a crash. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, especially when the RBNZ has limited ammo left to save the market.

by CWBW | 31st May 21, 1:10pm 1622423456

50% clearance rates is a sign of a healthy market.

by Mountie | 31st May 21, 7:01pm 1622444501

Nope. It tells us that 50% of vendors were asking too much on auction day.

by mikekirk29 | 31st May 21, 1:59pm 1622426390

NSC as barometer.
In 18m blocks of sales, the last 10m have exceeded the prev 18 m average sale sin NSC by 47%
For all of NZ it is only 21%
In January 14 to June 15 there were total sales of 12,175 in NSC
By January 19 to June 20, this had fallen to 7500.
The 18m average, pcm from 2013 - 20 for NSC was 551
In the last 10 months to April 21, it was 613
point is that sales were falling consistently from the end of 2015 to end of 2019
So, all that has happened is a bit of catch up overall.
But sales in NSC up 47% above long term average v 21% nationally, is a huge difference.
Where have all those sellers gone to live?

by Groat | 31st May 21, 2:20pm 1622427618

They were probably immoral tax free capital gain wealth generating ghost homes. You know, the type of immoral activity that Orr decided to reward so handsomely.

by Lord Dowding | 31st May 21, 2:20pm 1622427645

More verbose statistics from you Mike give it a rest

by Carlos67 | 31st May 21, 2:48pm 1622429296

Yeah gets pretty boring. Sales rate for the time of the year looks good to me. Still sold signs everywhere you look. I'm still not getting the vibe that the market has hit a wall.

by rastus1 | 31st May 21, 3:06pm 1622430393

mikekirk provides data and his own analysis/conclusion. Far preferable/valuable than your "yeah looks good to me' and 'i'm not getting the vibe' nonsense.

by Groat | 31st May 21, 3:18pm 1622431136

Carlos constantly letting us all know how he bought a house at just the right time and in the right place.... Mike Kirk is a benefit to others with his real time statistical information. He does not need his ego to be constantly massaged like others on here.

by b21 | 1st Jun 21, 9:39am 1622497167

To answer your question, visited 3 open homes this weekend. One was an overseas investor who bought just over 5 years ago and kept it closed (thanks for your service to this country), the second one some expats returning to their country of origin (there seem to be heaps of these according to agents), and the third one was a new build, so all of them contribute positively to the offer of housing.

by Nzdan | 1st Jun 21, 1:17pm 1622510272

So now some FHB is probably going to take out a sizeable mortgage, and give a chunk of that BORROWED money to the overseas investor as profit. Not only that, they'll likely be tied up with one of our Australian mortgage mongers who will then siphon 20+ years of profit off that transaction.

Would have been more cost effective to have the Government print $NZD and hand it to these aspiring overseas investors, so we can let these properties stay in NZ hands to be used by families for secure tenure, create memories etc.