The buyer market has far from dried up, says Century 21
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Century 21 saw a 79.55% increase in new residential property listings this April compared to April of last year. The real estate company says this demonstrates the strength of the buyer market and shows that there are plenty of people in New Zealand still eager to sell their properties.
Century 21 New Zealand national manager Geoff Barnett says the leap is mostly down to the booming regional property market, but also due to conflicting economic and confidence forecasts driving homeowners to get their properties sold sooner rather than later. Waikato and Central North Island produced strong sales data, whilst Auckland continued to plateau and saw a longer time to sell period.
“Getting listings is not a problem for us,” says Barnett. “For sure things have levelled out in Auckland…however this latest statistic shows there’s still plenty of activity, particularly in the regions.”
Wellington also enjoyed a good 2018, and Barnett says the capital’s prospects are looking solid.
“Somewhat like Christchurch a few years ago, Wellington will experience a lot of construction activity,” he explains. “I’m talking about new buildings going up, replacing the ones that were damaged by the Kaikoura earthquake as well as all the strengthening work that’s now required. It’s activity that will positively filter through that local economy.
Barnett believes that sellers are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to assessing an agent’s ability to secure a good sale price, and that client confidence is vital to maintaining a strong business.
“More business for Century 21 has been helped by the fact that we’ve got the international training, sales systems and an unbeatable global reach,” he states. “Most importantly, the 79.55% lift in new listings reflects our clients’ confidence in us to get the job done.”
