Fewer properties offered at Barfoot & Thompson's latest auctions but the sales rate's almost unchanged

Property / news

Overall sales rate of 19% at Barfoot & Thompson's latest auctions

11th Jun 22, 7:23am by Greg Ninness

The number of properties being auctioned by Barfoot & Thompson continues to decline although the sales rate is barely moving.

The agency marketed 106 properties for sale by auction last week (4-10 June), down from 118 the previous week and 128 the week before that.

Of those, 20 properties were sold under the hammer last week, giving an overall sales rate of 19%, barely changed from 18% the previous week and unchanged from 19% the week before that.

At the auctions where at least 10 properties were offered last week, the highest performers were properties in Rodney with an overall sales rate of 30%, while properties in Manukau and Waitakere lagged well behind, both with overall sales rates of 13%.

The table below shows the sales result for each district.

Details of the individual properties offered at all of the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz and the results achieved, including the selling prices of those that sold under the hammer, are available on or Residential Auction Results page.

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73 Comments

by Carinaz | 11th Jun 22, 7:52am 1654890724

Tony Alexander - THE INDEPENDENT EXPERT :)

https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/tony-alexander-we-are-nowhere-near-capit…

by Officebound | 11th Jun 22, 8:01am 1654891263

He always seems to be a couple of months late, and a buck short.

Leads with the statement "The number of properties listed for sale is rising quite quickly" - Didn't it have a huge surge a couple of months ago, and been reasonably static for last 2-3 months?

by John2 | 12th Jun 22, 12:36pm 1654994190

Has been hovering around 18-19% last couple of months. May remain at this level but doesnt mean prices will stay the same.

But the major headwinds are still to come

Raising interest rates - lags about 12 months as those on fixed coming off

Inflation

by Nifty1 | 11th Jun 22, 8:21am 1654892483

Tony Alexander: be aware of a whip back

Sounds like 'be quick'...

by Brock Landers | 11th Jun 22, 4:16pm 1654921004

Revealed: The true identity of CWBW.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 8:26am 1654892812

... would it help if we transitioned house prices into a traffic light system ... the days of the green light are past us ... we're slowing down , entering orange ( or amber , if you're in a posh suburb ) ... still no sight of the dreaded red light ...

by Smudge02 | 11th Jun 22, 7:55am 1654890931

There is no doubt auctions have fallen out of favour in our current situation. What a massive change in that only months ago you could not miss at an auction.

Next will be vendors accepting that their property is not worth what it was this time last year, and that the longer they wait the less it will be worth.

by Officebound | 11th Jun 22, 7:56am 1654890996

Around 4 weeks ago, over 100 people were convinced the best way to market their home was auction, despite recent stats showing it was very likely 80% of them would have no success.

I can understand sellers not being au fait with latest stats, but how on earth does an agent pitch up and say "I think Auction is your best bet" with a straight face....

by Carlos67 | 11th Jun 22, 8:02am 1654891359

For that very reason, people are just not up with the play with the market and go with whatever the RE tells them. Pretty much the same as your Doctor, do you ever question their diagnosis ? People go with what they consider a "Professional".

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 8:53am 1654894404

No matter what the market, there's a case for a small number of houses and situations to go to Auction. Even in really sick overall housing markets, I've seen hotly contested auctions for certain properties.

But yeah for 200 square metres of suburban bliss, this isn't the best time for auctions.

by tothepoint | 11th Jun 22, 9:57pm 1654941431

Personally, Carlos, I do not consider real estate agents to be professionals.

They are commission sales people who work in the real estate industry (which I don't regard as a profession).

Many of them appear to put financial incentives before ethical incentives.

TTP

by Retired-Poppy | 11th Jun 22, 11:12am 1654902771

..... much like Property Brokers😆

by agnostium | 11th Jun 22, 11:16am 1654902976

Slightly different. A doctor has little incentive to misdiagnosed you. A real estate agent has a massive incentive to make you believe you should buy/sell, their livelihood depends on it.

by CrispyKahawai | 11th Jun 22, 11:44am 1654904695

What a terrible analogy.

by IT GUY | 11th Jun 22, 8:17am 1654892221

about 1 in 5 getting a sale.....

by Yesyesyes | 11th Jun 22, 11:07am 1654902460

I do think some agents have used auctions as a device to make it clear to homeowners, with unrealistic expectations, exactly what the market is like.

‘ok you think it’s worth 30% above CV - let’s put it to the market and see’

If it gets the seller to appreciate that the market is turning/has turned, it’s probably a better strategy than letting it sit vastly overpriced for months.

by Zachary Smith | 11th Jun 22, 12:48pm 1654908508

Exactly. The auction is just the beginning of the marketing campaign. It's an extra grand or so but often worth a shot. Sellers may sell for a little less at auction because it is less hassle however all the advertising and paperwork has been done and the house can now have a price or be offered for sale by negotiation.

by Fluffybunny | 13th Jun 22, 8:38am 1655066328

The industry is conditioned to operate this way. Changes to best operating practice will take time to change.

by Nifty1 | 11th Jun 22, 8:15am 1654892103

This time last year 60% sale rate & 165 properties taken to auction...https://www.interest.co.nz/property/110833/barfoot-thompson-auctioned-f…

by tuisbest | 11th Jun 22, 10:55am 1654901754

Thank you for posting this. Last year this time in Manukau, 29 out of 50 houses sold at auction. It is down to 3 out of 23 for this week. Ouch.

by gnx | 11th Jun 22, 8:18am 1654892324

Oh oh…. looks like the virus has spread to the shore.

wonder when Queenstown will start to get to get a runny nose?

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 8:20am 1654892428

Nice to see Tony using street vernacular : " selling off their crap " ...

... I'm guessing " crap " is a property " containing rats and parasites ? "

by MrBlobby | 12th Jun 22, 9:16am 1654982206

The 2 legged variety

by Tee | 11th Jun 22, 8:22am 1654892568

House sellers hoping to get that price, so that bank balances are replenished.

by LFCYNWA | 11th Jun 22, 8:26am 1654892790

People who bought in November 2021 are so incredibly screwed I cant even...

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 8:30am 1654893033

... makes me wonder if they have any recourse against Adrian Orr & Grant Robertson ... who were the enablers and spruikers of the last deadly leg up in house prices ....

by kwbrn | 11th Jun 22, 8:49am 1654894149

I didn't notice a single word of warning or complaint from the National/ACT opposition when the OCR was dropped to record levels as was happening in the rest of the world. The OCR is set by the Reserve Bank not Robinson. Maybe your comments belong in the last century over at kiwiblog.

by Yesyesyes | 11th Jun 22, 5:38pm 1654925924

That’s just not true. Many, many people warned that this would be the consequence of printing money.

Seymour specifically here in Nov. 2020 was right in the money -

‘Seymour said the country was monetising its debt, avoiding hard choices and instead giving itself artificially low-interest rates.’

“Currently the Reserve Bank's irresponsible approach to liquidity of the New Zealand dollar is inflating asset bubbles, it is meaning a generation of young people watch the future get further away from them as a result and that is a recipe for political dissatisfaction and unrest," he said.’

*edited to add a missing speech mark.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/430415/act-party-leader-david-seym…

by kwbrn | 11th Jun 22, 12:46pm 1654908378

I think his solution at the time was to sell us to China.

by Essen | 11th Jun 22, 3:52pm 1654919533

You must be the new Lanthanide: paid to post Labour propaganda.

by Brock Landers | 11th Jun 22, 4:09pm 1654920557

Labourthide

by DTRH | 11th Jun 22, 9:10am 1654895451

The house price crash is now picking up speed. Rates will continue to go up with inflation NZD sinking putting more pressure on inflation. People who purchased in last 3 years will have lost deposit and be in negative equity over next few months, building companies going insolvent , expect the rental market to explode with people trying to recover some funds from overpriced properties eventually this will lower rents

by gnx | 11th Jun 22, 8:47am 1654894041

I know someone keeps mentioning the Princes of the Yen docu…. On YouTube.

I finally got around to watching it.

a very good watch!

it briefly mentions the large amount of suicides

i do wonder if people like Tony and the NZ banks have any idea of the level of suffering we might be about to see….and social change

sad really

if you haven’t seen it you should as itsan easy hour that will leave you better informed

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 8:57am 1654894637

It's in revelations people!

Thunderbolts and lightning

Very very frightening.

by gnx | 11th Jun 22, 9:01am 1654894895

I think you have your bible and Queen songs mixed up there🤡

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 9:11am 1654895517

There's a little bit of crazy town crier in all of us.

by Essen | 11th Jun 22, 3:55pm 1654919737

it briefly mentions the large amount of suicides

i do wonder if people like Tony and the NZ banks have any idea of the level of suffering we might be about to see….and social change

It’s a great documentary. And some people are going to be caught swimming naked in NZ in the next few months. But Japanese and NZ society are chalk and cheese. There will be some carnage, for sure, but I’m not so confident that it will mirror what has happened offshore in the past.

by Smudge02 | 11th Jun 22, 9:52am 1654897971

Just listening to a Propellor Property Investments advert on radio telling me that I should use a "small part" of the equity in my home to purchase an investment property as it will double in value every 10 years and is simply the only way I will ever get ahead.........................oh the irony!!!

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 10:35am 1654900546

... your $ 600 000 will double in 10 years time ...

So , in a decade you've got $ 600 000 of " free " money ... they say ...

... there must be something about misleading claims in the Advertisibg Standards Authority's statutes ...

by Yvil | 11th Jun 22, 4:32pm 1654921958

Ironic why? Is it because house prices have gone down by 4.9% so far, that you think they won't double in value every 10 years, despite them having done so over the last 3 decades?

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 5:17pm 1654924672

... unless inflation is running rampantly for decades , and wages surging annually ... how is it possible for the performance of the past 3 decades to be repeated ahead ...

Unless , we move into negative interest rates ...

... it's just not gonna happen ...

by Beanie | 11th Jun 22, 6:47pm 1654930039

Well I certainly hope it doesn't happen, but I am not so certain it couldn't. Back to low interest rates and 50 year mortgages would go a long way to another doubling. Never underestimate how many 🐇🐰🐇 in the hat.

If they do allow 50 year mortgages (as they do in some countries) then I would hope the young people would take to the streets in protest.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 8:36pm 1654936582

... agreed , anything is possible ... but , you do have to wonder that an underpopulated low wage economy with poor productivity levels at the far flung end of the planet has higher house prices than those in Germany , the USA ... regular developed rich countries in the geographic middle of their markets ..

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 9:23pm 1654939394

If I wanted to guess:

- Germany has a declining population and a large number of competing nations not very far away.

- The USA is a large economy with more options for cheaper housing. And lots of cheap illegal labour to build it.

I think if we remove a whole bunch of restrictions for new housing, and import lots of low wage labour, we can get there.

by HouseMouse | 11th Jun 22, 5:52pm 1654926766

Don't you know Gummy? Property prices doubling is an irrefutable law of the universe!!!!!!!!!!

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 8:30pm 1654936257

... so saith the high priest of real estate , the irrefutable leader of our mighty new religion , the Ashley Church : praise be thy name , Saint Ashley ...

by Nzdan | 12th Jun 22, 11:18am 1654989528

Property prices doubled in the last 10 years in Ireland. Just ignore the 70% fall that preceded this doubling. Oh and they're still 10% off their 2007 peak.

by LFCYNWA | 11th Jun 22, 9:10am 1654895428

Fast forward to 4 mins 18 seconds into this video. I know, I know, he's just one guy but he happens to be worth a lot of money and knows a thing or two. What he says here is 100% what I see happening (unless rbnz have one last attempt to save the reckless borrowers).

https://youtu.be/q3xJWWH70DY

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 9:13am 1654895583

I won't open it but can I guess, is it Peter Schiff?

Buy gold everyone, it's about to end!

by LFCYNWA | 11th Jun 22, 9:21am 1654896110

It's Meet Kevin a very famous youtuber. The gist is that the supply narrative is BOGUS. Supply exists now and prices are being lowered whilst interest rates go up along with the cost of living. He is getting ready to go shopping when that cocktail is served up.

by Pa1nter | 11th Jun 22, 9:28am 1654896522

Ah, meet Kevin. He does know a lot of things. He was also about 16 during the last decent downturn.

It does seem like the central banks are going to kill off a bunch of zombies, then stimulate. So "wait and buy in the dip" is conventional financial wisdom.

I wouldn't trust the central banks that much. At some point they will have to send a message not to depend on them to keep kicking the can.

by LFCYNWA | 11th Jun 22, 9:31am 1654896660

Politics forces can kicking. That and social unrest.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 10:44am 1654901078

... thanks for posting that link : Kevin bloody knows his stuff ... awesome : cheers !

by Nifty1 | 11th Jun 22, 9:21am 1654896092

Lol better buy his courses aye... it's how this guy makes alot of his money.

by kazadi | 11th Jun 22, 10:07am 1654898838

This is worth watching. It explains where we are heading perfectly. The follow up is bang on too.

https://youtu.be/LHJpbBm0vyQ

by Colin Nemo | 11th Jun 22, 10:50am 1654901431

There is a big difference between US, AU and NZ housing markets. Another consideration when looking at the global picture is that AUD/ NZD as risk currencies could be able to act as a buffer to the local stock market and housing market. As the AUD/ NZD devalues, it makes it cheaper in USD terms for global investors to come in to pick up assets on a the cheap and wait for the global economy to shift into full gear again. I'm thinking this is one reason why Jacinda is meeting with Blackrock to discuss securing single family residential homes (in NZ) on the cheap in the coming years, which what they've been doing in the US for years and years.

by HouseMouse | 11th Jun 22, 11:22am 1654903353

One of the biggest differences between the three markets is that our market is significantly more vulnerable than either of the other two.

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 12:07pm 1654906068

.. someone here threw out some stats which showed that on a ratio of total house price values as a ratio of the nation's GDP , NZ was twice as overvalued as the USA ...

Orr & Robbo have painted us into a corner ... our economy is in a vulnerable position ...

by gnx | 11th Jun 22, 12:41pm 1654908099

Gummy this hot potato has been passed around for a dozen years

It just so happened when the music finally stopped these two were left holding it

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 5:21pm 1654924914

... in my opinion , those two grabbed the hot potato willingly , chucked it back into the embers , then poured petrol onto the fire ...

They're not innocent saps , they're not patsy's

by gnx | 11th Jun 22, 11:27am 1654903653

Colin

Which assets would they buy?and why?

We have already sold the forests, the vineyards, the utilities like rubbish collection.

The farms are mostly privately held.

Many companies aren’t going to be worth much if they are linked to housing and the NZ local economy.

Sure we can let immigration and tourism run riot but with high unemployment I question this too.

Either way I can’t see this being good for New Zealanders standard of living.

by Yvil | 11th Jun 22, 2:43pm 1654915388

It's a terrible market to sell through auctions. Auctions work well when there are at least 2 or more buyers competing to buy. Now there is on average less than 1 buyer per auction, so the auction process is a very bad sale technique. Vendors must acknowledge the change of circumstance and sell with a price sticker

by Averageman | 11th Jun 22, 6:29pm 1654928983

Many seller are sold a crock by the agent, starting with "price" first, and "auctions are best" second. One gets the listing, and the second commits the seller to costs and auction pressure.

by Zachary Smith | 12th Jun 22, 11:49am 1654991366

Auctions aren't very expensive.

by Averageman | 12th Jun 22, 5:18pm 1655011125

Ok. Why do the agencies, agent never offer to pay the costs of one then?

by HouseMouse | 11th Jun 22, 4:43pm 1654922608

Can anyone tell me why someone would buy a townhouse off the plans from a developer with zero track record?

by Nifty1 | 11th Jun 22, 5:15pm 1654924557

Coz the brochures look pretty...

by HouseMouse | 11th Jun 22, 5:57pm 1654927045

haha, yeah.

I just don't understand why anyone would do it. Even buying off the plans from 'seasoned' developers can be fraught.

I know someone who did, and the rookie developer is going in to liquidation....

I did warn him.

There's going to be lots of ugliness and carnage over the next 12 months in property and real estate...

by Brock Landers | 11th Jun 22, 5:25pm 1654925143

Printer8 said they would be a "success"?

by Gummy Bear Hero | 11th Jun 22, 5:26pm 1654925179

... 'cos the ladies shown posing in the townhouse photos look better than Nadia Lim in a bikini , coated in a warm pasta sauce ... boobies hanging out ...

by Brock Landers | 11th Jun 22, 5:31pm 1654925506

Setting the bar low there.

by HouseMouse | 11th Jun 22, 5:58pm 1654927120

Watch any of the cricket last night mate?

good stuff from the Black Caps. Our fears of another top order 'Calypso Collapso' were allayed!!!

by John2 | 12th Jun 22, 12:34pm 1654994077