Auckland agents say house sales soaring

JAZIAL CROSSLEY
03/02/2012

Real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson has reported the highest number of properties sold in Auckland for the month of January since 2007, at the highest prices it had ever seen for the first month of the year.

The average price the agency sold houses for was $529,768  in January, up 2.7 per cent from a year earlier.

It sold 683 houses, up 21.3 per cent from one year prior. New listings were up 15.1 per cent for the same comparable period, with 1031 properties coming onto its books last month.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/6362251/Auckland-agents-say-house-sales-soaring

The Hamilton area has benefited as well:

$365,788 median house price in Waikato, up 6 per cent on last year
511 new listings in Jan, 1 per cent up on last year
42.9 weeks to sell all houses on Waikato inventory, 58 per cent down on last year
Source: realestate.co.nz 3/2/12

Housing shortage plight hits 4-year high
By Michael Dickison
Thursday Feb 2, 2012
Estate agents are placing signs in shop windows for “properties wanted immediately” amid a housing shortage that has slid to the lowest inventory of homes available for sale in four years.

Other estate agents are cold-calling property owners and distributing pamphlets to encourage listings and meet the growing demand from people struggling to find a place to live.

Read the rest here:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10782837

The news just keeps tumbling out. Rents squeezes, record low building starts, and now fewer houses for sale.

We are entering into a “pressure cooker” market and those who do not act now to take advantage of the evidence will look back with deep regret in the future.

Now is the time to learn, investigate, and to take action.

House for sale hit four-year low

01/02/2012

The number of homes for sale in New Zealand’s three largest cities has fallen to a four-year low, data released today shows.

Realestate.co.nz ‘s monthly NZ Property Report revealed that just 8542 new listings came on to the market across the country this January.

The number was up 3 per cent on the same time last year, but was not keeping up with buyer demand.

Realestate.co.nz chief executive, Alistair Helm, said that while January was always a slower month for new listings, strong sales in the main centres have pushed demand far ahead of supply, leading to the record low levels in inventory.

Read the rest here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/6346402/House-for-sale-hit-four-year-low

Bidding wars over rental housing
By Michael Dickison
Wednesday Feb 1, 2012

Auckland tenants say they are trapped in a bidding war in a city choked for rental properties, as consents for new housing hit a 46-year record low.

Desperate house hunters are sending realtors full CVs with photographs before viewings – which they turn up to with applications already filled out – and one renter says he has been up against offers to pay $100 extra a week.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says affordable housing is one of the big issues facing the city as it welcomes its 1.5 millionth resident this week.

Read more here:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10782588

I have predicted this looming crisis so often  that not much comment is needed now

Rising rents, homelessness, and overcrowding will become a scandal and my prediction that rents will double is coming true even more quickly than even I anticipated.

Renters in race for space in inner city
By James Ihaka
Tuesday Jan 31, 2012

Renters are scrambling for properties in a housing shortage that has deepened in central Auckland and is now rippling out to the suburbs.

Some areas have seen rents rise by up to 28 per cent and more increases are on their way as the first tax bills disallowing depreciation claims hit property owners from April.

Letting agent Lesley Wills, of Ray White, held a viewing at a Mt Eden house at the weekend and got 10 groups hungry to get a lease.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10782303

Once again interest rates remain at historically low levels making investment in property more and more profitable and savings less and less attractive.

In my view low interest are here to stay  and investors can buy in confidence safe in the knowledge that  this is as good as it gets.

Constant threats to raise interest rates now ring hollow, and in this months RB statement raising rates isn’t even mentioned.

26 January 2012 (Bob Dey report)
The Reserve Bank left the official cashrate unchanged at 2.5% today.

Bank governor Alan Bollard said: “Since the time of the Decembermonetary policy statement, financial market sentiment has improved slightly, with increased liquidity in European financial markets. However, the global economy remains fragile and risks to the outlook remain.

“World prices for New Zealand’s export commodities have remained elevated but the recent appreciation of the $NZ is reducing exporters’ returns. The European debt crisis has also increased the cost of international funding, which will likely pressure funding costs for New Zealand banks over the coming year.

“In the domestic economy, we continue to see modest growth. Over recent months there have been signs of a limited recovery in household spending and the housing market. Further ahead, repairs & reconstruction in Canterbury will also provide a significant boost for an extended period, though there may be further delays resulting from the aftershocks.

“Reassuringly, inflation pressures have remained well contained. Inflation has declined and now sits below 2%.

“Given ongoing uncertainty around global conditions and the moderate pace of domestic demand, it remains prudent to keep the cashrate on hold at 2.5%.”

As readers of my columns will recall I have repeatedly predicted that residential rents will  rise dramatically starting form the main centres and moving out like ripples in a pond.

The following article shows that my predictions are coming true.

In the month a years to come,  rents  will likely double from the levels that prevailed for the last few years, as  the housing shortage bites and the effects of punitive tax legislation eats into returns. The politicians, who have ultimate control, will do nothing so  it is inevitable that sooner or later we will have a scandal on our hands centred around affordable rents .

Watch this space.

Rent hikes hit hard in Auckland, Wellington

BY GREG NINNESS
22/01/2012

Rents in many parts of Auckland and Wellington have increased by more than three times the national average in the last year.

According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, the national median rent charged for three-bedroom homes tenanted last month was $350 a week, compared with $340 in December 2010, an increase of 2.9 per cent.

But in major centres such as Auckland and Wellington, where demand for accommodation is greatest, the median rents in many suburbs increased by 10 per cent or more (see table). In the fashionable Auckland suburbs of Grey Lynn and Westmere, the median rent for a three-bedroom house increased from $580 to $660, a 14 per cent rise.

Properties in central Wellington suburbs also showed increases of about 10 per cent.

link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6295358/Rent-hikes-hit-hard-in-Auckland-Wellington

“Just” 0.9% rise in a month equates to  12% per annum.

I would have thought that was a pretty solid result.

As things appear now we have have the makings of another boom -  hard as it is to believe.

It is going to be an interesting year.

December house sales up 20 pct

JAZIAL CROSSLEY

Last updated 12:30 18/01/2012

Property sales nationwide were up 20 per cent in December compared with a year earlier but prices rose less than 1 per cent, the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data shows.

With 5136 unconditional sales, there were 919 more houses sold nationwide in December 2011 than in the same month last year. This was the most transactions for the month of December for any year since the market last peaked in 2007.

All regions except Wellington and Hawke’s Bay saw significant improvements during the period.

However, in December nationwide prices rose just 0.9 per cent, or $3000, from a year earlier to a national average sale figure of $355,000.

Link

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/6276193/December-house-sales-up-20-pct

Rental home demand set to push up rents

CATHERINE HARRIS

Last updated 10:16 18/01/2012

Rents may be flat but demand for rental homes increased around the country towards the end of last year, which pundits believe must eventually push rents up.

Enquiries on the Trade Me website rose 13 per cent for the December quarter on a year before.

Trade Me Property head Brendon Skipper said the trend was a continuation of strong demand in the previous quarter.

”In the September quarter, we saw the number of enquiries from tenants was up 10 per cent on 2010.

link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/6275204/Rental-home-demand-set-to-push-up-rents

For those who want to invest in commercial property, but either have limited capital or limited time, then investing in a listed property company is another way of benefiting from the commercial property market. There are many arguments for and against this form of investment such as lack of control and liquidity, versus high returns and spread of risk .

Also where the property is, the strength of the tenant, and the quality of the management are important factors. Anyone needing advice about this form of investment can contact me for independent advice.

Listed property companies outperform
Conor O’Brien | Thursday January 12, 2012

New Zealand’s listed property companies outperformed the NZX50 last year.

A Forsyth Barr report shows the NZX Property (Gross with Imputation) Index outperformed the NZX50 by over 11%. The listed property companies reported 11.8% growth compared to the NZX50′s 0.4% growth.

The listed property companies’ growth is attributed to 10.2% growth in the first half of the year and comes despite a 0.2% regression in the December quarter, Forsyth Barr analyst Jeremy Simpson says.

The Forsyth Barr report showed all the listed property companies had positive growth for the year with Kermadec and Argosy leading the way with respective gains of 30.6% and 17.6%.

link:

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/listed-property-companies-reporting-strong-growth-co-107646