New Zealand’s auction rooms are likely to be much busier places in coming weeks, with agents telling OneRoof they expect a post-election surge in listings and sales.
The number of listings set for auction next week is in most cases more than double what has been on the slate in the last month.
Harcourts national auction manager Shane Cortese told OneRoof there was no doubt in his mind that vendors have been waiting for an end to the election and he is expecting a lot of properties to hit the market after the final vote is cast on Saturday.
He did not think there would be an increase in any particular property type and expected a wide mix of homes to be listed for sale and in all different parts of the country.
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Cortese said his auction list for Tauranga next week was a prime example of the expected surge; he will go from calling 2-4 properties per session to 9-12.
“That’s a pretty big jump.”
It’s a similar situation in Northland and Auckland, with the number of properties scheduled for auction in both regions set to rise, he said.
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He warned sellers not to delay making a decision because auctioneers, photographers and house stagers were likely to be flat-out in the run-up to Christmas.
Ray White chief auctioneer Sam Steele agreed there was a “dramatic increase” in listings and auction bookings on the cards from the end of October and during November.
“There are a lot more of them coming on. That traditional spring lift that usually starts in September, that has sort of been pushed back a little bit. We are going to get the same amount of stock, but what’s going to happen this time around is we are going to get it in a much shorter period of time.”
Steele calls auctions for Ray White Manukau and said from next week the number will double to more than 20 being called per session. Among the 18 properties being auctioned next Tuesday by the agency is a family home at 4 Hillcrest Grove, in Hill Park, and a two-bedroom townhouse at 1B Waituarua Drive, in Conifer Grove.
“We are definitely ramping up to a very busy November / December and certainly a market which I think may surprise a few people.”
A family home at 4 Hillcrest Grove, in Hill Park, is one of 18 properties being auctioned at Ray White Manukau's auction room next week. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom bungalow in Church Street, Onehunga, makes a change from the leasehold apartments that have been a consistent feature at City Sales' auctions over the last few months. Photo / Supplied
The rush started early for Barfoot & Thompson, which has already seen a steady increase in the number of properties going to auction.
Operations manager Vaughan Borcovsky said that in past elections, the market had been quieter than usual but 2023 had bucked the trend.
“Normally we would see them [buyers] wait until the election happens and then kick off, but I believe people obviously if these numbers are high which they are, than when we would normally see in an election cycle then I think they are feeling confident they can make the right decision to move forward.”
Barfoot &Thompson’s auction schedule beefs up again after the election, with about 176 properties being called a week until the end of October, up 26% on the previous week.
It’s also a steeper rise than the previous two weeks when the number of properties called grew 16% week-on-week.
But those selling apartments said it’s not just their auction lists that are bigger, but also the type with more expensive freehold apartments suddenly making a noticeable comeback.
A near-new apartment on Barrack Road, in Mt Wellington, is another freehold apartment going to auction after the election. Photo / Supplied,
A three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on Hobson Street, in Auckland Central, will suit owner-occupiers. Photo / Supplied
City Sales sales manager Scott Dunn has noticed a dramatic change in the stock in their first auction after the election.
The agency has been calling cheaper apartments that are leasehold or non-remedials over the last few months, but at their upcoming first auction after the election on October 25 there will be freehold apartments or houses ranging in price from $500,000 to $900,000. It is also changing its auction frequency from fortnightly to weekly until Christmas.
“I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing or just a coincidence, but literally every single one of them is a remedial, non-complex standard residential homes.”
There will be six properties called including a three-bedroom bungalow at 197 Church Street, in Onehunga, a two-bedroom apartment and an executive one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 908/1 Hobson Street, in Auckland Central.
Dunn believed the change was due to the election rather than the warmer weather, adding that leasehold or troublesome apartments were not as closely linked to the wider market.
Ray White City Realty Group auctioneer Cameron Brain also noticed a few higher-end apartments suitable for owner-occupiers trickling into their auctions from next week including a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 1107/1 Hobson Street, in Auckland Central, and a townhouse in Blockhouse Bay that weekend.
“Pre-election it’s mainly been leaseholds and cheap investment stuff mainly around the university area. Now we are seeing owner-occupiers coming back in the market.”
There were only three properties scheduled to be called at Ray White City’s auctions next week, but six the following week.
However, he said this could change very quickly as more properties were put on the market especially as some apartment owners who had bought in the last five years decided they didn’t stack up as investments and wanted to sell them by Christmas.
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