Date: 2nd Dec 2020

The jingles of Xmas bells are ringing as we approach that time of the year again.

WOW, what a year and even with six weeks of lockdown it seems to have just flown. The real estate market momentum does not stop as the reserve bank and the government looks into their ‘bag of tricks’ to see how they put a lid on property prices.

New rating valuations are out in the Napier region and I would suggest appealing your value if it appears low. Whether you like it or not a good in-line rateable valuation gives purchasers confidence when adding extra dollars to their buying decision.

The current OneRoof house price index shows the best-performing regions are Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, with values up 10 percent and 6.7 percent respectively on last year. A lot of that has been fuelled by the relatively low cost of housing in both regions and equity being pulled out of Auckland to go into regional markets. Most of the regions have recovered from the initial lockdown slump, with West Coast, Northland, and Otago the only regions to show declines in values.

Investors who had been waiting on the side-lines at the time of the last lockdown, perhaps in the expectation that prices would fall, are now actively re-entering lower-priced regional markets, putting pressure on first home buyers and adding further heat to the market.

Who is buying:

Hopefully, you have received your RED sunflower seeds in the mail and have joined our ‘grow with us’ summer campaign. Tremains are running with a free Christmas Marketing package over December – have a chat with one of the team to talk about your options as we look to ensure we have your property unconditional before the Xmas break – it certainly is NOT too late. If you miss the Xmas deadline we will be running a bumper Upgrade in the HB Property Guide for the 18-December issue which will then give your property coverage over the holiday period.

Congratulations to the Magpies for their great victory over Northland in the final last Friday.

Enjoy your week and start ticking off that Xmas list because the countdown is on!