A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTORS

With summer (what summer) almost certainly in the rear view mirror for many kiwis we turn our attention to the first month of the real estate market in 2023. Listing’s have been steady but with a couple of historic events to begin the year with a change in country leadership & wide spread Auckland flooding. This did mean our early clearance rates fell after a string November / December finish to 25% under the hammer. Tony Alexander has come out with his real estate survey, with his key take outs being that a net 59% of agents feel that prices are falling in their location, little changed from levels over the past 12 months. From what our team has reported, and what we are seeing this would still be accurate. The withdrawal of buyers from attending opens homes shows signs of ending, but attendance at auctions continues to decline. With well presented homes, we are seeing good open home attendance but bringing them through to transact still has its challenges, but overall properties are still selling. Buyers remain concerned about prices falling after they make a purchase, rising interest rates, and access to finance. Our team is seeing the same concerns with our attendees and buyers. Our prediction? We think we will look back at the first few months of 2023 and this will have been a good time to buy, and think that once we see the medium to long terms interest rates ease back buyers will return.