Wealthy expats are giving local Kiwis a run for their money in at the upper end of the housing market.
In the last month, strong bidding by expats has resulted in some high-profile sales at auction, and left a growing number of frustrated buyers with two to three million dollars in their pockets.
Hayden Stanaway, Bayleys’ director of Auckland and Wellington residential, says agents are fielding more and more enquiries from returning expats waiting out their two weeks in quarantine facilities in New Zealand.
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“There are 5000 people being processed every two weeks. Not all of them are trying to buy property but there’s a fair percentage there that do,” he says.
Johnny Sinclair, Bayleys' national director of residential, agrees.
And while expats represent a small fraction of the Auckland market, the competition they are bringing is noticeable.
“Coming into the $2.5 million plus market, they [expats] don’t have a feel for what properties are worth. They are bucking the trend and are pushing prices up,” Sinclair says.
The country is in desperate need or more listings to keep up with the demand locally and internationally, he adds.
Although expats are eyeing properties all over Auckland, many are focused on waterfront locations on Auckland’s North Shore or premium central suburbs such as St Heliers, Ponsonby and Remuera.
Bayleys agent Linda Simmons says her luxury villa market in Devonport, on the Shore, is particularly driven by overseas enquiries.
So far this year there have been ten $3-million-plus sales in Devonport, she says, yet demand for properties in the suburb has doubled.
“Returning Kiwis are searching for properties online while stuck in quarantine, and as soon as they are out they are buying. There’s a lot of that going on. People have more time in their hands and start thinking about life,” she says, adding that expats are prepared to pay what’s required to get back home.
Bayleys national auction manager Conor Patton local buyers are also doing their bit to keep the $3 million market active.
“People have genuine reasons to sell and buy but there’s a real shortage of stock in that level, even more than there would normally be, and it creates a good competition,” he says.
Some buyers wait for up to a year until the property they like comes up in the certain areas of Auckland, but due to increased competition, they are becoming less picky, he adds.
