Bombays no hurdle for first home buyers
‘‘What you are seeing is a value differential between the cities and the rural sector and you are seeing sharp lifts in values. We may think it is expensive but when you come from a city, it’s cheap to you.’’
Aucklanders desperate to set foot on the property ladder are abandoning their dream of a big city buy-up for sprawling hills and country living in a town near you.
Property analysts CoreLogic prepared data for Westpac showing first home buyers priced out of Auckland in 2016 were ‘‘likely to be buying on the other side of the Bombay Hills’’.
The data matches anecdotal reports of Aucklanders escaping the inflated city market for greener pastures, said Westpac’s Colin Smith.
First home buyers account for 36 per cent of all sales in Tuakau, said CoreLogic senior researcher Nick Goodall.
That’s up 27 per cent, respectively.
At the same time, first home buyers account for less than 20 per cent of Auckland house sales.
Waikato District Council Mayor Allan Sanson said new residents are appearing in the community and they are coming from both ends of the district.
‘‘Not only Auckland, there are first home buyers out of Hamilton. That’s been a trend for at least four years or more,’’ Sanson said.
Prices in the towns have increased ’’as high as 60 percent’’ in the past four years as buyers spy bargains.
‘‘What you are seeing is a value differential between the cities and the rural sector and you are seeing sharp lifts in values. We may think it is expensive but when you come from a city, it’s cheap to you.
‘‘It might be a struggle to raise the money but a least it gets you on the ladder.’’
In 2016, the average sale price in Tuakau was $538,000 for all house sales compared to $525,000 for first home buyers.
Growth in Huntly and Ngaruawahia is generated out of Hamilton, Sanson said.
First home owners in those towns paid an average of $301,000 (compared to $316,000 for all homes sold) and ($349,000), respectively.
And parts of Huntly are being rezoned after developers moved in, looking to build. At Te Kauwhata, a private plan change would see 2500 new homes and a population explosion of more than 5000 people.
That’s over and above the current level of development in the area.
In 2014, 38 percent of Harcourts $319,000 Riverlands sales went to Auckland buyers, in 2015, that figure increased to 54 percent and last year, it fell to 48 percent, in part, due to tighter lending rules.
LJ Hooker North Waikato manager Ron Bradley said a percentage of all sales in those areas of the Waikato have been to Aucklanders but they did not keep data.
‘‘There is no secret there is exodus of people who can’t afford Auckland prices who are coming to other locations and ours is one of them,’’ Bradley said.