Spring Fever
As temperatures warm up, so does the housing market – making spring an ideal time to sell.
Spring – it’s a magical time of year: lambs are frolicking in the fields, the trees are in blossom, and the New Zealand housing market emerges from its winter slumber.
Traditionally, the months of August through to November see a big spike in new listings: from around the mid-9,000s in the middle of winter, to over 13,000 homes by Christmas. Last November’s figure hit 13,477, the highest number for three years.
This winter, while new listings were down, buyer activity remained constant. Despite the wet and cold weather, buyers were still out in force and the overall sales ratio at auction houses remained constant, sitting around 38 percent. Add to this the continuing constraints on housing supply, and median prices that continue to rise – up 5.7 percent year-on-year – and this spring is the perfect time to list your home.
Warmer weather, hotter market
It’s not only the weather that warms up over spring; traditionally prices have as well. As the number of properties on the market starts to rise in spring, demand does too – and the key to achieving the best price for your home is increased competition among buyers.
Over the past six years, Trade Me Property has recorded price variants of between 6 percent and 15 percent in our major centres depending on the season, with the highest prices recorded in the warmer months.
On realestate.co.nz last year, the average national winter sale price in August was $616,038. Over the spring period, September through to December, that average rose to $636,831 – meaning vendors pocketed, on average, an extra $20,000.
Buyers out in force
So far this year, first-home buyers have been out in force, now comprising 23 percent of the market. It’s a trend likely to carry over into spring, which will further buoy activity. Having watched from the sidelines during the double-digit house-price inflation of recent years, first-home buyers are returning to the market, spurred on by increased housing affordability.
While prices remain stable in some suburbs, over the past year some other areas have seen them ease.
When combined with low mortgage interest rates that seem set to remain low for the foreseeable future, these softer prices have made becoming a home-owner, rather than a renter, an attractive option for many young people.
Across the country, the winter chill has once again helped put the housing market into a state of semi-hibernation, but the signs of new growth are already there. Increased demand from first-home buyers, investors still out in relatively high numbers (13 percent of all sales), and constrained supply, point to more housing-market strength.
If you want to spring into action and list your property over the coming season, it’s essential to utilise a marketing campaign that attracts all possible buyers. No matter what type of home you live in, you must generate interest in every facet of the market, from movers, to investors and those taking their first step onto the property ladder.
As New Zealand’s largest full-service real estate company, Bayleys services vendors and purchasers of homes across New Zealand and excels in generating the widest possible interest among buyers. When you list with Bayleys you have the support of a well-connected office network backed by a dedicated national support team.
To achieve the best price, talk to your local Bayleys sales team to ensure your marketing campaign runs as hot as the weather over the coming months.
Source: https://www.bayleys.co.nz/news/residential/spring
Contact us today
Angela Webb
Licensed under the REA Act 2008
Mobile: +64 27 349 1997
Office: +64 3 375 4700
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