Sellers ‘should lower expectations’
Quotable Value says entry-level properties continue to sell well and demand for rentals remains high
People selling houses in Hawke’s Bay need to lower expectations as values slow, Quotable Value says. Latest values supplied by QV show Napier values this month rose 14.2 per cent year on year and just 2.7 per cent over the past three months.
The average value in the city is now $513,670.
Hastings values were up 8.6 per cent year on year although they were only up 0.2 per cent over the past three months. The average value there is now $460,373.
Central Hawke’s Bay values rose 13.4 per cent year on year and 2.8 per cent over the past three months. The average value there is now $324,646.
“Entry-level properties, those in the range of $300,000 up to $450,000, continue to sell well with plenty of activity from both first home buyers and investors. In saying this, the rate of growth across the Hawke’s Bay region is down. We believe this is due to challenges around affordability coupled with the usual winter slowdown,” QV Hawke’s Bay Property Consultant Nicola Waldon said.
“As value growth slows, we’re continuing to see challenges around managing sellers’ price expectations and many properties are being relisted after failing to sell first time around.”
Demand for rental properties remained high, with competition intense due to a lack of new listings. “We’re seeing many examples of properties being let the same day they are first advertised to the market.”
The CoreLogic July QV House Price Index also identified a slowing in growth but pointed out that Napier still had the strongest annual growth of the main urban areas.
“However the continued reduction in annual growth rate, now 14.3 per cent — down from 17.6 per cent at the end of April — epitomises the expected slowdown outside the main centres,” CoreLogic NZ head of re- search Nick Goodall said.
“Nearby Hastings has seen a similar slowdown (from 12.5 per cent at the end of April to 8.4 per cent at the end of July).”
Figures last Hawke’s Bay suburbs Marewa and Akina were some of the fastest-selling property markets in the whole of New Zealand, new research shows.
Figures from CoreLogic and data analysis conducted by CoreLogic and OneRoof showed that for the 12 months to June, the median selling time for houses in Marewa was just 13 days — in the rest of New Zealand, only Springvale in Whanganui (12 days) and Awapuni in Palmerston North (11) achieved a faster median selling time.
A total of 122 houses sold in Marewa, over the 12-month period, with a median price of $395,150.
The figures also showed that property in the Akina suburb of Hastings took just a day longer to sell than in Marewa, making Akina the sixth fastest-moving suburb in New Zealand. A total of 129 properties were sold there, achieving a median price of $395,150.
“We’re continuing to see challenges around managing sellers’ price expectations and many properties are being re-listed after failing to sell first time around. Nicola Waldon