IT'S SPRING!!

A time of new beginnings and fresh energy. This year, it seems Spring started a month early!

Whilst the confidence in the global economy and the NZ economy has fallen in recent weeks, Greenhithe Real Estate activity in August showed a definite pick up. The media may still be cautious and reserved, but purchasers found renewed confidence and went looking. At Barfoot & Thompson, Greenhithe, August was a cracker month. Open Home attendances rose, and we sold more properties than we listed – ending up with a shortage of listings.

The NZ Real Estate market continued to experience modest winter turnover volumes but the lack of new listings was a wide spread phenomenon. At the start of September, Barfoot & Thompson had 5626 properties for sale, which is the lowest number for 7 months. This means that the power between vendors and purchasers remains finely balanced.

Happily, the traditional spring lift in listing activity is now coming through and we are expecting to bring an exciting new selection of homes to the market to meet the traditional rise in demand.

All this of course is the normal pattern at the end of Winter. Whilst turnover volume is likely to stay considerable lower than in the boom days of 2006/7, it is also likely to be well above the dire days of 2008. Most commentators see a steady, stable, normal Real Estate market for some time, with “house prices edging higher from second half of 2011” (Tony Alexander, Weekly Overview Aug26).

To see the full Barfoot & Thompson August report, click here.

NZ ECONOMY

The NZ economy continues to be hugely influenced by the world scenario. On one hand, commodity prices are high, the Chinese and Australian economies are resilient and there is continued growth amongst our trading partners. (The value of New Zealand exports rose 12 per cent in July.) On the other hand, the US is showing signs of a faltering recovery and Europe is proving to be a story of two parts. NZ consumer and business confidence has fallen and caution remains the keyword. However, whilst this is slowing projections of NZ growth, it remains a tale of a cautious but continuous slow recovery.

INTEREST RATES

“The probability of another OCR rise on September 16, as reflected in swaps market pricing, has fallen from 75 per cent to 25 per cent over the past four weeks, and the market has gone from expecting three or four OCR hikes over the year ahead to two at the most.” Brian Fallow, NZ Herald Aug 30.

In other words – we can expect floating rates to remain low longer than previously expected (possibly until December). On the other hand, the world scenario has also seen medium term fixed rates come down over recent weeks. However, economists currently still pick floating interest rates as the best short term option.

“Practically everyone will probably be best served by staying on the floating rate” (Tony Alexander, Weekly Overview Aug 26).

To check out current interest rates click here

STATISTICS

* REINZ stats show there were 160 sales in Greenhithe in the 12 months to July 2010.

* Median # of days for a home to sell in Greenhithe in July 2010 was 40 days (sections and higher priced homes take   considerably longer).

* Rents continue to be up on a year ago. “Rental activity remained strong in August, with the average weekly rent achieved being $406, down $2 a week on the average for July but up $28 on that for August last year” (Peter Thompson)

As the Barfoot & Thompson data below shows, the sales volume for August on the North Shore is definitely down from last year (when we had a "catch up phase" once people realised the world calamity had been avoided). However, Greenhithe seems to be moving against the trend with good sales having been achieved and the North Shore sales in the year to date are still up on last year.

COMMENTS WELCOME

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. Remember there is a Real Estate discussion forum on this website. Alternatively, feel free to email questions to Lucas on lbonne@barfoot.co.nz  or contact the team at Barfoot & Thompson on 413 6528.

The Greenhithe Market Updates are written by Lucas Bonné, Manager at the local Barfoot & Thompson office. Lucas can be contacted on lbonne@barfoot.co.nz . Opinions are his own and not representative of Barfoot & Thompson. Whilst all care has been taken in presenting the above information, no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of the whole or any part and interested parties should make their own enquiries to satisfy themselves in every respect.