Jazzed up in a buyer’s market

legislative and fiscal changes impacting their ability to borrow,’’ she says.

‘‘As a shift in sentiment sets in and buyers are less willing, or unable, to pay the prices we saw towards the end of 2021, pressure will come on vendors to adjust their expectations to meet the market.’’

So if it is now a buyer’s market, creating a good first impression can’t hurt, and there is that need to make a property stand out. But do incentives, such as a saxophonist – or even a free car or vouchers – work?

It seems not.

Price and location still key

Harcourts agents Matt

Winiata and Aneil Daya are offering $5000 of Mitre 10 vouchers to the buyer of a house they are marketing in Royal

Oak, Auckland – ‘‘to give your home a kick start’’.

Winiata says the vouchers are not normally offered with a house sale: ‘‘It’s something to try [to] attract people at the moment.

‘‘But we have had zero response about the voucher offer. It is a nice little bonus, but price and location are still the thing [that will secure a sale].’’

Another Harcourts agent in Massey is offering a free airconditioning system, appliance upgrade and furniture store voucher with the sale of a new build.

Craig Lowe of Lowe & Co Realty in Wellington says there’s no doubt the market has changed, and sellers need to adjust their expectations.

‘‘We’re in the middle of what is effectively a credit crunch that makes it extremely difficult since the CCCFA [Credit Contracts and Consumer

Finance Act reform] came in,’’ he says. ‘‘But there is always a needs-based element to any market – people do need to move.’’

Lowe says he can understand a salesperson doing something to make a listing noticeable, but throwing something in for free won’t change someone’s perception of the property market.

‘‘Agents and owners do need to adjust, and it’s most important they work together as a team.

‘‘Having a trusted adviser who has your best interests at heart is essential. An objective ‘middle person’ can help you see the right decision – it’s hard to see this for ourselves.

‘‘We will still tell owners an offer is too low when we know we can do better.’’

Lowe says the concept of ‘‘loss aversion’’ can loom large, when owners learn their property value may be less than last year.

But selling a property someone has owned for some time still brings a big gain, he says. ‘‘People are inclined to focus on what they perceive to be a loss, rather than seeing the gain. But it’s not something that should cause people to change all their future plans.’’

REINZ also says vendors need to take on advice. ‘‘For those selling, conversations with their real estate professional will help provide a better understanding of what is happening in the market right now, [and help them] get a feel for market values and the most effective approach to achieve the best outcomes,’’ Baird says.

‘If they want a car, they’ll just go out and buy one’

In Auckland, Blair Haddow of Bayleys Ponsonby, who sold

$40 million worth of property in nine weeks during the height of the recent upturn, is unconvinced that ‘‘special offers’’, such as a free car or an overseas trip, actually work.

‘‘I don’t see that working for people in our part of the market.

If they want a car, they’ll just go out and buy one,’’ he says.

‘‘We don’t have to give them a flight to Sydney to make them buy a house.’’

Haddow says the biggest challenge in the current market is managing people’s expectations, and that comes down to providing the right information.

‘‘The market has shifted really quickly, and values are back 10 [per cent] to 15 per cent.

‘‘There are vendors who think the market is still buoyant and buyers who think they have heaps of control, which creates a big gap. The vendors who take our feedback on board are the only ones selling.’’

Haddow says the very top end of the market is probably the only part that does not seem to be affected – a colleague is selling a Remuera property for about $25m with a lot of interest.

And Haddow himself has already had interest in a new Westmere listing for ‘‘buyers with a budget over $5m’’.

Hiring a saxophone player, left, to serenade people at an open home was a way for Ray White Eden Terrace agent Kane Taylor to gain a marketing edge for this Auckland villa.

Blair Haddow of Bayleys Ponsonby says high-end homes have not been as affected by the downturn. He recently listed this Westmere property and received interest before the first open home. It is listed for buyers ‘‘with budgets over $5m’’.

Buy this house with renovation potential in Royal Oak, Auckland, and you will receive a $5000 Mitre 10 voucher.