- Top agents highlight the importance of addressing potential turn-offs to attract buyers in a competitive market.
- Challenges include lack of parking, access, and concerns over nearby developments.
- Buyers want finished homes with quality bathrooms and kitchens and are avoiding do-ups.
The desire for “finished” homes has emerged as one of the 10 factors that will make a property harder to sell in 2025, some of New Zealand’s top real estate agents have told OneRoof.
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Other reasons include a stigma around leaky homes and social housing, lack of parking, and concerns over large new developments built nearby.
With listing volumes near-record highs in some parts of the country, and buyers in no hurry to make a decision – just yet – addressing any potential turn-offs will be crucial for vendors looking to stand out in the market and make a sale.
Tommy’s agent Alexia Stoddart told OneRoof properties with awkward access and steep climbs were often challenging to sell in Wellington, although many offered some of the best views in the capital, and for some buyers, the steps were worth it.
However, Wellington buyers were less forgiving of homes that needed work due to increased building costs in recent years.
Stoddart said properties with the appearance of monolithic cladding were also a challenge, regardless of whether a building had been built correctly.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Amanda Evans also found buyers in her Auckland patch of Remuera reluctant to purchase an “incomplete” property.
She said Remuera had five or six different types of buyers within its market but in general, people were looking to move into properties that were “well and truly finished”.
“People do not want to spend money on having to do up the bathroom or kitchen,” she said.
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Evans said building costs blew out after the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a “real resistance” to property still needing work.
Many Remuera people were professionals, not tradespeople who necessarily knew how to gib-stop or pull up a carpet. They were often busy career couples who “don’t want to think about doing the bathroom”, she said.
Ray White Mangere’s Pat Lapalapa told OneRoof parking – or lack of it – was a potential deal-breaker. “There are many three-bedroom townhouses and new builds that have only one car park. I’ve been selling a few new builds which we have had to price sharply because of the amount of car parking space.”
Lapalapa said he had a client who was “really keen” on a property that “ticked all the boxes”. When the client tested if his car fit, he found it didn’t. There was no space for the wife’s car either so he bought elsewhere instead, he said.
Ray White agent Pat Lapalapa says parking has fast become a deal-breaker for many buyers. Photo / Supplied
Lapalapa said flooding was another “massive” challenge in his patch. Any property in a floodplain was “an instant red flag”, he said.
In January 2023, Auckland faced unprecedented flooding, driving hundreds from their homes and claiming the lives of four people. South Auckland was significantly affected.
Big developments next door, poor locations, or homes already attached to others such as duplexes were also turn-offs for buyers, Lapalapa said.
In Rotorua and Whakatāne, Professionals McDowell Real Estate principal and auctioneer Steve Lovegrove said there was sometimes a fear of social housing development and gang involvement but a “fear of missing out” in a “busy market” often overcame this.
This was especially so if the price was right, he said.
Another matter was people’s views. “They might not want to live near a power pylon, others will have no view on that. Personal values come into it,” Lovegrove told OneRoof.
He said some reasons clients offered for not wanting a property could be superficial, as they might be too embarrassed to say that they couldn’t afford it.
While strange designs, custom or bespoke builds, and stigma around monolithic cladding were definitely factors making a property harder to sell, it was “very rare that a property can’t be sold for only one reason”, Lovegrove said.
10 Real Estate Red Flags
1. Natural disasters. Floodplains are a major concern for some after recent major weather events, but also a worry is potential erosion in coastal spots.
2. Renovations (lack of). Buyers want houses that are fully finished and won’t need any renovation or upgrade work for quite some. Soaring building costs have blunted any desire for a do-up.
3. Noise. Homes next to major roads and lively entertainment venues may be high on the list for some buyers but those looking for a good night’s sleep may take issue with a neighbourhood’s decibel levels.
4. Lack of car parking/garaging. This has become an increasing issue as some councils focus on intensified housing.
5. Resale value. Homes with plaster cladding, bespoke designs, or next to large housing developments are a worry for some buyers. The "leaky homes" scandal of the 1990s and 2000s has tarred thousands of plaster homes, often unfairly.
6. Access. This is a particular worry in parts of Wellington where steep climbs, winding steps, and narrow or awkward driveways are sometimes the price of a stunning view.
7. Location. Proximity to good schools, work and shops can save hours of travel time and top the wish lists of many families. Homes that are in remote locations and poorly served by public transport can quickly be crossed off many buyer lists.
8. Neighbours - part one. People aren’t all that keen on sharing so homes attached to other homes or even have shared driveways will always come second place.
9 Neighbours - part two. Houses that are well-maintained and well-presented are popular at open homes but even those can fall out of favour if the neighbouring houses are rundown and have a pile of cars on the lawn. Loud dogs and overgrown gardens are also red flags.
10. Falling property values. Buyers don’t want to pay over the odds for a home but equally, they don’t want to purchase a home in an area that is falling in value. Markets go up and down, and most people buy for the long haul, but falling house prices are a sign that others have turned their back on a neighbourhood.
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