Buyers are beginning to slowly regain confidence
Hayley Ludgate says now is a good time to buy a property – provided you do not extend yourself.
She and her husband, aged 21 and 23 respectively, recently sold their first house in Whangarei and bought a piece of land in Kamo on which they will build a house.
Price rises seemed to have slowed, she said.
The couple were not actively looking but a block came on to the market near her family farm.
‘‘We missed out on a multi offer for that. While we were looking at it, we had a guy from [construction company] Homeworld look at it.
‘‘He later contacted us about the Kamo block, so it was actually never listed. Real estate agents said we wouldn’t find a block anywhere around Whangarei for under $200,000, well, we got ours for much less.’’
She said they made money on the sale of their first house – enough to cover the 10 per cent deposit needed on the construction loan deposit and pay off some debt.
More buyers are likely to decide they share her sentiments over the coming months, ASB’S chief economist says.