- Christchurch house prices are more resilient, but sellers are making concessions to close deals.
- Auctioneer Ned Allison noted less intensity, with many homes having just one bidder.
- Buyer demand is strong for homes in the $500,000-$700,000 range, but choice is abundant in the $1 million-$1.1 million bracket.
Christchurch house prices are proving more resilient than prices in other parts of the country, but sellers are still having to make some concessions to get deals over the line.
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Last week, Harcourts Grenadier sold 22 of 34 properties under the hammer, for a total of $20 million.
Auctioneer Ned Allison said there was far less intensity in the room than there was three years ago, when the market was booming. Many of the houses up for grabs have just one bidder and sell after some negotiation.
Buyers liked that the Northcroft Street home had been completely renovated. Photo / Supplied
“It’s not the craziness of the past where everything flew past expectation. Some are needing a chat to move both parties a wee bit,” he said.
Many of the sale prices were in line with the vendor's expectations, but some were "a little bit under, but it’s a result to move on with".
Allison said the standout property at Harcourts' auction last Thursday was an entry-level three-bedroom home on at 753sqm section on Northcroft Street, in Hoon Hay. The property was marketed by Christopher Graham and sold for $828,000 after 37 bids, which was way more than the seller had expected.
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Allison said renovated properties on good sections were getting premium results.
“Buyers don’t seem to have a lot of appetite for DIY and as soon as there’s a bit of work to do, it’s quite off-putting. But homes with everything done are performing pretty well in the auction room.”
Buyer demand was strong for homes in the $500,000-$700,000 bracket. “They sell like hotcakes – that's the first-home buyer market. But most of the homes for sale are in the $1m-$1.1m bracket. There’s a lot of choice when you’ve got that sort of budget.”
Harcourts Gold agent Cameron Bailey said the Christchurch market was “still lumpy”, with auction clearance rates bouncing between 40% and 60%.
A four-bedroom home at 223 Sawyers Arms Rd, in Bishopdale, is priced at $699,000. Photo / Supplied
Properties that passed in at auction were still selling pretty quickly after they had been priced. “There’s no problem with the auction process at the moment, the problem is there’s a gap between buyers and sellers," he said, noting that the homes that weren't selling were those whose owners wanted too much.
He said townhouses aimed at investors were also harder to shift because buyers had a lot of choice. “The busiest part of the market is the $400,000 to $800,000 range. People get pre-approved for a certain amount and go spend it. They are not that worried about the market – they are just in there.”
Bailey is currently selling a four-bedroom home at 223 Sawyers Arms Road, in Bishopdale, for $699,000 and a three-bedroom townhouse at 2/27 Division Street, in Riccarton, for around $800,000.
Ray White Metro auction manager Richard Withy said Christchurch hadn’t experienced the big drops of some of the other major centres.
“Christchurch is pretty resilient, but we are not immune to the economic conditions. There’s a little less competition than there was two or three years ago.”
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