Well-heeled buyers are willing to pay a lot of money for high-end properties in Nelson and Tasman, with one British TV celebrity reportedly picking up at least three recently. But further down the food chain, the market is struggling.
The latest OneRoof house price figures highlight challenges in both regions.
Tasman’s average property value was up 1.4% in the three months to the end of June to $1.014 million, and up 12% year on year, but declines in some of the region's biggest housing markets (Richmond's average property value slid 0.1% over the quarter, while Appleby's dropped 3%) point to bumpy months ahead.
And while Nelson's average property value was up 10.3% year on year, it dropped 3.9% ($36,000) in the three months to the end of June to $878,000.
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Agents report that listing levels have spiked, giving buyers more choice, but also removing urgency from the market.
“You go back six months and it was a race to see who could buy a house the fastest,” says Summit Real Estate agent Glyn Delany. “But now there are more than 700 listings in the Nelson/Tasman region. That’s three times the amount of stock on the market than there was just over six months ago. It's a huge shift.”
K Real Estate agent Nicola Drummond has felt the change in Motueka, Tasman’s second largest centre. “We were lucky to have about 20 properties on the market in Motueka last year [across all agencies]. Now we're nearly up to 80 at the moment.”
Delany has noticed other factors are having an influence on the market. Before Christmas some home-owners were fearful of putting their homes on the market in case they couldn’t find something to buy, he says. But now many are rushing to sell out of fear that prices will drop further.
This home and income property at 4a Golf Road, in Tahunanui, Nelson, is seeking offers over $799,000. Photo / Supplied
5a Marion Place, in Motueka, is for sale for $499,000. Photo / Supplied
Delany says a clear example of the shift in buyer appetite can be seen in his listing at 4A Golf Road, in Tāhunanui, which is seeking offers over $799,000. The home and income property would have been snapped up by investors last year, he says, but buyers haven’t been as forthcoming as they might have been during market peak.
“I put that down to a lot of unknowns in the investment market, and the lending criteria have been quite difficult for investment buyers to get the finance.”
Drummond agrees that the credit squeeze has had an impact on first home buyer activity in the region, even though there is a good amount of stock at entry-level price points sitting on the market. She cites as an example a two-bedroom home at 5a Marion Place, in Motueka, which Bayleys has listed with price tag of $499,000 and a declaration that the sellers are “motivated” and the property “will be sold”.
The top of the market is holding up better, says Drummond. People who buy at that end aren’t necessarily struggling to get a mortgage or cope with rising inflation.
Nelson has seen some big sales in recent months. British entertainer Noel Edmonds, who is known for his mad-cap TV show Noel’s House Party, which aired in New Zealand in the 1990s, is reported to have bought “at least” three properties in the Nelson and Tasman region.
John and Jennifer Dunbar, of Dunbar Estates, in Ngātīmoti, Motueka, confirmed in May on their Facebook page that they had sold the property to Edmonds and his wife Liz. “We wish Noel, Liz and the team all the best moving forward with this beautiful property,” they said in a post accompanied by a picture of them with Edmonds.
Edmonds is currently selling his estate in Matakana, north of Auckland.
A luxury home on Aporo Road, in Ruby Bay, recently sold for $6.3m. Photo / Supplied
Drummond says the most expensive residential property in the Nelson-Tasman region is the luxury lodge Paratiho Estate, which last sold for $18m in 2017.
However, recent top end sales have been in the $6m-plus price bracket.
Drummond and colleagues recently sold a luxury home on Aporo Road, in Ruby Bay, for $6.3m. The property had originally been listed with another agency for $8m, but once Drummond’s agency took it on they lowered the price.
“When we got it down to offers over $6.5m, we had multiple offers on it,” says Drummond. “The buyers ended up coming from down south. But we had a local person who bid, and also someone from Sweden who was really keen on it for a long time, but couldn't get the funds together. We also had American buyers who were looking at it.”
The Nelson/Tasman region has a lot of luxury homes tucked away, says Drummond. “There are quite a few high end properties in Kaiteriteri and Mapua and out towards Richmond. A lot of people with money are buying in this area,” she says.
“It's always been a holiday area. A lot of people come up from Christchurch traditionally in the summer months. And people coming down from Auckland as well. When people holiday here they tend to invest in the area and retire here.”
