It may seem difficult, or even daunting, but there are many advantages to buying a house at auction. When the buyer and seller meet, and the hammer comes down, the true market value for that property will have been established. It’s a proven system of success.

Buying at auction avoids the traditional offer/counter offer negotiation process. An auction is an exciting, competitive environment where everything is out in the open. You can see your competitors and keep track of each and every bid. No deals behind closed doors!

Here’s my advice!

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Here’s my pick for the weekedns viewing; give Tony a call 0800 61 8888  on these or any Harcourts listings.

Some great properties being auctioned this weekend:-

48a Gulf View Road, Murrays Bay  – Saturday at 1.00pm
2/109 Shakespeare Road, Milford – Sunday at 1.30pm
1/109 Shakespeare Road, Milford  – Sunday at 2.00pm
53 Oaktree Avenue, Browns Bay – Sunday 2.00pm

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Do Up Gem: This is a collectors item

Every now and then you come across a gem in the real estate business. And often they are do ups. some are collectors items, the ones with history charm and character . You know, an original 1960′s bungalow, untouched since the day it was built, or a villa in the country built in 1890, still with scrim on the walls, uninsulated, with the sunhats in the cupboard waiting for a gardener long gone. [Read more →]

Ready…Get set…Gone | Milford | $599,000

Ready, Get Set, Gone

You’ll need to be off the mark quick to grab this fabulous property! With a host of features and benefits from its convenient location offering easy access to shops, beaches, medical facilities, public transport, motorway and zoned for sought after Westlake, Takapuna Intermediate and Milford Primary schools.. to its great garden, entertaining areas and low maintenance construction, this stylish and fully renovated family home will definitely be a popular choice amongst buyers.

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The Three Auctioneers

During the week I met a client of mine who is considering whether to sell. We have talked about this sale over the last two or three years. She asked me, “Is now the right time?”, and then she said ” Stop being a real estate agent and tell me what you really think”.

I laughed- real estate agents are so full of bluff and bluster, (I’m being polite)-it sometimes is hard to know when we are being real or just spouting a line to get a listing! So I said, “You want me to be enthusiastic and positive, don’t you?!”

So, Is it really the right time to sell? Well, it’s your house, your land, and it really is up to you. I can only help you get the very best price for your house when you decide the time is right for you.

However, there are market factors, right now, that indicate that it is a good time to go to the market. Let’s look at the evidence on a national basis, locally and how it might affect you, today.

After two years of the ball being very firmly in the buyers court, real estate commentator  Alistair Helm of realestate.co.nz says the market is stable and swinging towards a sellers market, but there is a real danger of lack of stock driving up prices. The NZ Property Report, dated 1 Sept 2009, shows a clear lack of houses on the market, especially in the main centres. Auckland is the worst off, there are 45% (almost half) the number of homes on the market as there were a year ago. And this shortage of property for sale will drive up prices. One of the really scary things is that there are few homes being built, and little land being subdivided. Watch out!

Yet Auckland is New Zealand’s biggest city and the landing pad for most immigrants and returning ex pats. These buyers have cash and they are actively in the market buying homes with British Pounds and Chinese Yuan. Often this money is secured against overseas assets and borrowed with low interest rates. It is one of the reasons why the New Zealand Dollar is high. Overseas buyers have always valued New Zealand land and property highly, often higher than the locals ( think of British migrants in 1840, buying land from the locals for a few blankets!).  And while local interest rates are the lowest we have seen for decades, they are forecast to rise in the New Year, so buyers are buying and fixing their rates. Remember a loan in 2009 costs a third less than the same loan did a year ago.

So, locally, on the North Shore, there is a boom. How long will it last? I don’t know, you tell me. The auctions I have attended have been active and exciting. At 89 Forrest Hill Road, Forrest Hill about 200 people witnessed a battle royal. 3 bidders fought over an 1800m2 section with an original 1950′s weatherboard bungalow. It sold for $1,200,000. I have attached the bid sheet for you to see. 7 Trafalgar Road, Milford, a brick and tile 1960′s home, nicely renovated, with a pool, sold after a fiercely contested bidding war, for $900000. And 60 Kowhai Road, Mairangi Bay, sold for $855,000 3 weeks before the auction. The buyer made the sellers an offer they could not refuse, to avoid missing out (again).

Not every home is right for auction however, and some are more difficult to sell than others. If you are needing some advice, without bluff and bluster, call me.

Is now the right time to sell? The market evidence says YES.

Is it the right time for you? Only you can answer that.

If the answer is YES, give me a call on 0800618888.

Commenting in the latest Harcourts MarketWatch newsletter Bryan Thomson Harcourts CEO says that the volume of written sales in Auckland  was a significant 78% ahead of August 2008 and in addition the average sale price was up 11% on the same month last year. Part of the reason for this is Harcourts significant expansion, especially on the North Shore, but sales activity is very strong. Developers seem to be back in the market with a 1800m2 subdividable site in Forrest Hill attracting significant interest, and selling under the hammer for $1,200,000.

Here are our auction results:
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A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Phil McGoldrick (Harcourts National Auction Manager) who won the Australasian Auctioneers Competition – a fantastic result!

Some more great auctions this weekend too:
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It’s just people needing a home to live in. Trying to get to grips with where the property market is going is really difficult, and it really does depend on who you are talking to. Commentators all have their viewpoint while Real Estate salespeople at the sharp end know that right now, sellers have an advantage that they have not had for nearly two years. Buyers have arrived back in the market and they need homes to live in.

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