The highest and lowest prices are revealed
‘‘We don’t normally see that level of consistency and previously we’ve been lucky if we had three or four [houses sold at that price] in a year.’’ Andy Stewart on the glut of million-dollar houses.
Million-dollar property sales are becoming more common in Palmerston North, new figures reveal.
Thirteen houses sold for $1 million in the city last year, more than three times the number for previous years.
At the other end of the scale, two units sold for $65,000 each, according to information collated from QV property records.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Manawatu spokesman Andy Stewart said the increase in million-dollar sales showed the market has moved up considerably, which was an encouraging sign for sellers.
‘‘We don’t normally see that level of consistency and previously we’ve been lucky if we had three or four [houses sold at that price] in a year.’’
In 2015, there were 10 houses sold over the million-dollar mark and that December set a Palmerston North record when three were bought in the same month.
Professionals Group real estate agent Eileen Farquhar, who sold 10 of the houses, said 2016 was the strongest year she’d seen in 30 years as a real estate agent.
‘‘We certainly went through a few quite bad years, but last year even beat [the previous peak] in 2007.’’
The most expensive house sold last year went for $1.95m, in Hokowhitu. All but one of the million-dollar homes sold in 2016 where in the same suburb.
Farquhar said the top property sold only five days after it went on the market and it turned out the seller knew the buyer.
They were looking for a bigger house and the seller wanted a smaller place, so they ended up buying each other’s houses, she said.
The cheapest homes sold in 2016 were two units in Larsen Court that were sold together for $65,000 each.
Stewart said the lower price bracket of Palmerston North homes was moving up too as housing got more expensive in the city.
There were very few sales under $240,000 last year.
Below $100,000, there were only a hand full.
And while the most expensive houses were usually bought as a home, houses at the bottom of the market were often picked up as an investment, Stewart said.
Manawatu Property Investors’ Association president Pauline Beissel said the cheapest houses often needed a lot of work, and weren’t always a good fit for firsthome buyers.
‘‘[But] Investors are more likely to take those kinds of houses on – as long as the sums work out.’’
If someone had the time or money to fix the place up to a livable standard, they could make a good profit renting it out or selling it on, she said.