A real estate agency has been working hard to pull together under-the-radar deals in Auckland’s inner-west, OneRoof can reveal.
Ray White Point Chevalier owner Derek von Sturmer told OneRoof he had recently completed a five-property chain to link up buyers and sellers, but only one property of the chain was actually on the market. In the past he’s linked up to seven house sales together in a chain to move people around the suburb.
At the end of last year, he shuffled five home sales in the space of two weeks, triggered by one set of owners selling to move out of town. And more chain deals are in the pipeline.
“Four of the homes [that sold last year] weren’t on the market. The key is to get the entry-level home, which is the first home in the chain, across the line and if you can make that happen, all five sales will go through,” Von Sturmer said.
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"The most important thing for me at the moment is having the local network because when we have one house on the market that needs to sell, the people who are interested in buying the property need to sell their home first.
“It’s like putting pieces together in a puzzle which has been created by one house advertised online that snowballs. It’s a lot of very hard work in a short space of time.”
The chains Von Sturmer and his team are putting together differ from the more typical chains buyers and sellers encounter.
Von Sturmer and his agents contact homeowners who are not actively in the market but have shown an interest in moving.
This house on Walmer Road, in Point Chevalier, was part of a real estate chain. Photo / Supplied
“Often vendors think ‘it’s never going to happen’ or it’s too hard to get their house on the market, so you see a lot of off-market sales. We’re not pushing our agenda here; these owners have legit reason to move but don’t have the time and energy to list and do all the marketing.”
He added: “People move for practical reasons – they need an office, there's a baby on the way – and they could buy [a property] I have on the market. So I say, ‘Hey guys, I think I’ve got a house’ and connect the chain."
And while Von Sturmer is still a big proponent of auctions to get the best price for a house on the open market, sometimes vendors prefer to operate under the radar.
“A lot of times the results are fantastic, because buyers are so happy to get a place and the sellers are so grateful. When the stars align, we can solve their problems, and it’s all done in a week.”
Von Sturmer said “mapping the process” for a newly-listed property helps him match possible buyers. For a mid-level $2.5m house, this might mean finding a buyer for a $1.6m home so that vendor can move up the ladder, or, at the other end of the chain, helping finding a buyer for a $3m home so that person can downsize to the smaller house.
“One time, one of the local dads was telling me they were thinking of bowling their existing home and building a new one because they needed more room. It felt like that process would've been a complete nightmare for a young family so I suggested looking at a property around the corner," he said.
“Two days later they had purchased a new home and their house was sold without going on the market.”
Homeowners Point Chevalier want to stay in the area for the beach lifestyle, schools and neighbourhood feel. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Von Sturmer said that he still uses auction campaigns to flush out the unconditional buyers, as the deadline of an auction date helps get buyers through the door to open homes.
“A lot of people are just watching the listing, it’s sat in their search but they’ll wait, watching the pricing change, there’s no motivation, they won’t go to see a property,” he said.
He added that even if a property doesn’t get an unconditional buyer at the auction, the market feedback is important for vendors.
“It gives them peace of mind, they see the condition of the market, they can use all the information to feel confident, that they’ve done everything they could and don’t second-guess themselves.”
Von Sturmer did note, however, that in today’s downward market less confident buyers were worried about paying too much if the market continues to fall, not helped by well-meaning friends, family or professional advisers.
“I call these guys ‘sales prevention officers.’ Their intentions are good but they don’t understand the positive impact on the family’s lives to upsize.
“The price you pay, to a certain degree, in five or 10 years this will be irrelevant."
