Buyers are back traipsing through open homes and enquiries are higher than they’ve been in months, agents say, despite the property market heading into what is traditionally the worst time of the year for buying and selling houses in Auckland.
Properties that have been on the market for several months have suddenly been receiving a renewed burst of interest within the last month and properties that have been on the market for several months suddenly have people turning up to the open homes to see them. And for some properties buyer interest is quickly turning into a sale.
At the start of April, Harcourts Papakura salesperson Alex Dunn would be lucky to see one buyer through an open home for a property he was selling on Melgran Avenue. "The beginning of April we were just standing there on our own for half an hour to 45 minutes.”
But that changed at the weekend when six groups attended Sunday’s open home and another buyer who couldn’t make it arranged to see it a few hours later.
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By Monday there were two offers on the property and it sold unconditionally that same day.
Dunn says it is an interesting turn of events as the winter months are generally quieter because most people don’t want to see houses when it is cold or pouring with rain.
He has seen an increase in both online enquiries and the number of people attending open homes in the last three weeks.
“In the past, it has been people making enquiries, you speak to them and then they come and see the property. Now it just seems like there’s just more people out there looking for property, putting lots of enquiries out, and then over the weekend a lot more people are coming out looking at properties over the open home period.”
Dunn says people seem to be listening to some commentators such as Tony Alexander and are wanting to buy at what some think could be at or near the bottom of the market. “They are trying to purchase at the bottom with the hope that they hold the home for three to five years and sell again at another peak.”
Ray White Manukau owner Tom Rawson says there are more buyers in the market now and some are fiercely competing for certain properties.
His agency had 83 registered bidders for 13 properties auctioned this week, which is double the amount a month ago. Of those properties, 10 sold under the hammer.
A bungalow on Willmay Ave in Papatoetoe garnered 80 bids and sold for $1.704m, while a leaky home on Lobelia Rise in Goodwood Heights received 44 bids and sold for $742,000.
A development property on Kissling Place in St Johns received seven offers. Photo / Supplied
A near new home on Melgran Avenue, in Papakura, Auckland, had its busiest open home in several months last weekend. Photo / Supplied
“Our auction room yesterday was packed.... if you’re in the middle of the room you’ve got people all around you – it was a swarm.”
The average number of bidders for a property has also increased from three bidders to about six.
“Prices if they have been rising or falling have levelled out so that gives people a bit of hope or a bit of confidence of where they should be going with their purchasing.”
People have also got used to the stricter financing rules and there is positive energy coming from buyers, he says.
“Sellers are still kind of, ‘oh well I need to sell now I’m feeling the impacts of everything’. Buyers are saying, 'well now is a good time to buy, I will buy now'.”
Ray White Remuera salesperson Matt Gibson has also noticed more buyers looking and making offers.
He has just sold eight properties in 25 days and said all but one were to owner-occupiers. Of those sales in Meadowbank, Ellerslie, St Johns and One Tree Hill, four were multi-offers and two were acceptable pre-auction offers.
A development property on Kissling Place in St Johns received seven offers before selling last week. The price cannot be disclosed until settlement.
A leaky home on Lobelia Rise in Goodwood Heights attracted 44 bids during an auction this week. Photo / Supplied
“Just a real noticeable lift in enquiry, open home numbers, and then people willing to put pen to paper. Personally, I think that people realise the market has stopped dipping, it is certainly flattening out, and people are like, ‘now is the time to go’."
This could also be due to the fact there is less stock on the market compared to the same time last year, but the competition for it has increased.
People who are selling their properties at the moment are being pleasantly surprised, he says.
“I think a lot of vendors were holding back and going, ‘the market is absolutely crashing, I don’t want to list now’. But I think they are seeing now that there’s activity out there and we still have to move on with our lives. You are buying and selling in the same market – it doesn’t matter when you go.”
Properties priced anywhere between $650,000 and $2m are selling well, he adds.
The increase in buyer enquiry has also been felt elsewhere around the country.
Professionals Rotorua principal Steve Lovegrove says in the last few weeks his team had noticed between 20% and 30% more buyers attending their open homes than any other time in the last seven months.
“What we are now seeing is there are now buyers in the marketplace. We are seeing them from lifestyle properties, investors, right across the board I think we are seeing buyers.”
But while buyers have increased, he says, the number of properties listed for sale had also dropped by about 10% in the last month due to vendors getting seller's fatigue and pulling their properties off the market.
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