PONSONBY PARK

Ponsonby Park – August update

The impact of Covid-19 on Auckland Council’s budget has temporarily delayed the realisation of Ponsonby Park - the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road. How long this delay may last, will be informed by the local board’s consultation on their three-year plan.

The Waitemat a Local Board, along with all the other Auckland local boards, has recently consulted on what to include in their next threeyear plan. This was the first part - phase one - of the consultation. The feedback from phase one informed their draft three-year plan, outlining the key initiatives the Waitemat a Local Board wants to focus on to help their communities thrive whilst supporting the recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

The Waitemat a Local Board now needs your help to check if they’ve got it right; this is phase two of the consultation. Your feedback is now sought until 13 August, 2020. Please support Ponsonby Park in your submission, along with the other issues you are passionate about.

‘A key role of the local board is to advocate for initiatives that the local board may not have decision-making responsibilities or funding for in their draft local board plan, but recognise the value it will add to the community’. (aka ‘One Local Initiative’ project). Ref Appendix A: Advocacy initiatives, to… ‘secure funding, resource and support to deliver the community’s vision for Ponsonby Park 254 Ponsonby Road as soon as practicable’.

Although the physical development of the civic space will be delayed, continuing progress through the design and planning stage still makes practical and financial sense. The momentum for the development is maintained, jobs are created without committing to the full Capex (capital expenditure), and the community is rewarded for all of the ongoing support and effort they have put into the project to date.

We further suggest that Ponsonby Park be provided with a meaningful and symbolic physical presence on Ponsonby Road in the meantime. That a portion of the site at 254 Ponsonby Road be made available for the community, and beautified as a place for people to meet, gather, rest, and relax - until the project can be fully completed.

Ponsonby Park is the Waitemat a Local Board’s priority capital project Ponsonby Park – we’ve already waited so long. Please make your submission in support of Ponsonby Park today – submissions close soon, on 13 August. (JENNIFER WARD) PN

https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/waitemataplan

Local Market Wrap with Charlotte Kofoed

A warm winter so far for the greater Ponsonby marketplace.

As we near the end of a cold winter the greater Ponsonby real estate marketplace continues to experience a definite ‘warm patch’, with overall indicators certainly performing better than many experts had predicted coming out of lockdown.

Looking to the REINZ statistics for the greater Ponsonby area associated client due diligence for the Anti-Money Laundering and

(Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Herne Bay, St Marys Bay, Freemans Bay and have not yet engaged with real estate agencies, particularly potential love with it and make an emotional decision to own it.

Westmere) we saw 55 completed property sales in June, up markedly from 31 in May. The median sell price also exhibited strength at $1.75 million, up 17% on June last year.

The REINZ data also shows an increased willingness on the part of sellers to utilise the auction method of sale, with a third of all properties sold under the hammer compared with a quarter in June last year.

READER QUESTION is particularly important in the current environment.

I received some great feedback after my last newsletter talking about the keys to a successful auction campaign. One reader contacted me and asked, “why would I go to market now when I cannot see anything else that I would like to buy?” This is a good question. Demand is far exceeding supply for all types of property in the greater Ponsonby area at present, and buyers generally have less choice. (Which of course means it is a great time to sell!)

But if you are struggling to find what you are looking for through websites and printed advertising, do talk to us about your requirements. We are often speaking with home owners in the early stages of preparing to sell and may already have a listed property that is exactly right for you. If we’re well aware of what you’re looking for we can often arrange a pre-launch viewing, which brings me to a the greater Ponsonby market trends, and the value we can bring by

topic that is becoming increasingly relevant.

SELLING OFF-MARKET VS AN ADVERTISED CAMPAIGN homes quietly via our databases without any advertising, open homes, signboards or any of the usual tools that accompany a traditional campaign. Occasionally this works incredibly well. My colleagues and I have successfully completed many off-market confidential sales in this way to the mutual benefit of both parties. In this situation we are legally required to carry out all due process as we would with an advertised listing, including a market appraisal, the signing of an agency agreement tailored to the individual situation, and the Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.

Whilst we have concluded off-market sales in all price brackets, in most cases we do recommend a carefully planned campaign tailored to your target market. There are always new buyers entering the market who buyers currently residing overseas and considering returning home. Furthermore, often the ‘best’ buyers are not actively looking but happen to see a beautifully presented and well-advertised home, fall in

At New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty we offer you more than the standard local print media and real estate websites. Our exclusive listings also have complimentary presence on our www.sothebysrealty.com global website which generates nearly three million monthly visits. Our listed properties are also featured across all our media partner sites including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. This lets us effectively target the expat market which

As opposed to an off-market campaign, this no-stone-left-unturned approach to your sale generates competition for your property and ensures that you can feel completely confident that the value of your property has been maximised.

If you are thinking about selling I’d be happy to talk with you about We are often contacted by home owners who would like to sell their

correctly positioning your property with an effective campaign strategy.

Be it an ‘off-market’ or fully advertised campaign, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these methods at any stage. Please feel free to call me for a confidential chat. Thank you for taking your time to read my column.

CHARLOTTE KOFOED, M: 021 241 9394, T: 09 353 1220, www.ckre.co.nz, E: Charlotte.kofoed@nzsir.com

Properties Sold Average Sell Price Median Sell Price June 2020 55 $1,863,938 $1,750,000 May 2020 31 $1,695,903 $1,642,500 June 2019 51 $1,611,318 $1,500,000

John Elliott: Never forget - a week is a long time in politics

I’ve come back to this after the machinations of the last week. Would you believe, ‘a week is a long time in politics’.

19 September is not too far away now. It will be warmer then. The flu should be disappearing, and hopefully the Covid-19 pandemic is properly contained, if not entirely eliminated.

19 September is election day in New Zealand. At the start of 2020, National was polling as well as Labour, and it looked as if it might make Labour a one-term government. One term is quite rare in New Zealand. We generally give a new government a second chance, and quite often a third term. I can remember New Zealand elections back to 1954 when I was a fifth former (year 11). Since then, Labour has had a one term stint 1957-1960, and again 1972-1975. But New Zealand has been hit by a global corona virus pandemic which forced a national lockdown. It is internationally acclaimed that Jacinda Ardern has made an exceptional job of leading the team of five million in eliminating the virus from our shores. Her, and Labour’s popularity, skyrocketed and it looked like Labour would sleepwalk back into power, possibly able to govern alone. Then the old saw, ‘a week is a long time in politics’, came back to nibble at Labour’s lead. A few glitches at the border, some people leaving isolation without being tested caused dismay, and caused Labour to lose some support. Simon Bridges was dumped as National Party leader. Todd Muller was installed in his place and local MP Nikki Kaye became his deputy. The first new poll showed National climbing back somewhat, although Muller wasn’t really catching fire. Then Paula Bennett resigned and it became clear that two factions still existed in National - one for, and one against Bridges. National started to tread water again. Next came the leaks at the border as returning Kiwis flooded back home and went into isolation. A number turned out to be bringing Covid-19 home with them from Britain, the US, India - in fact from all around the globe. Labour pretty much got that sorted and then National fired an own goal. They complained about breeches of security, but lo and behold, former president Michelle Boag tried some dirty tricks, releasing confidential details about Covid-19 cases. Muller floundered around trying to shut down a scandal, Kaye tried pretty unconvincingly to calm it all down, and the National Party overall again sank in the popular opinion stakes. There was even talk of another leadership change for National, but one thing still seemed certain, Labour again looked likely to romp back into power, possibly to govern alone, but more likely with the Greens still getting 5 or 6%. enough support to take them below 5%, and out of parliament. He is however a good campaigner, and something of a teflon parliamentarian.

Act looks like surviving; even growing a little, but no other party looks like

it has a chance. Locally, here in Auckland Central, I did expect Nikki Kaye to win handily, although she was up against two excellent candidates in Chloe Swarbrick (Greens) and Helen White (Labour). The total centre-left vote may exceed National’s but will be split by Chloe and Helen, neither of whom can win without some kind of Epsom-like accommodation.

Now Kaye has gone and a new National candidate is not yet selected.

And then it happened again - a new bombshell! As I was writing this Muller resigned and National was in crisis mode, deciding who and how to select another new leader.

As I write, the latest Roy Morgan poll has Labour 54.5%, National 27%, The Greens 9%, Act 5%, and New Zealand first 1.5%. It will be a miracle if National could now win from here in September.

But don’t write National off. Remember a similar scenario in 2017 when a little known MP called Jacinda Ardern took over leadership of the Labour Party very close to the 2017 election and pulled off a stunning victory.

You don’t get two Arderns in three years, so the new National leader will receive a poisoned chalice and probably lose quite badly. Fortunately, not all New Zealanders believe National has a divine right to rule. But the new National leader does believe in National’s divine right to rule – the hard right winger, Judith Crusher Collins, who is now where she’s always wanted to be - leader and Prime Minister in waiting - maybe. And back-to-thefuture Gerry Brownlee, 64, is the new deputy leader.

So, now that Collins, with numerous faux pas to her credit (‘I’m a woman of colour; the colour white’) is installed, we look forward to a lively campaign.

But she will have a hard job convincing me that with her as leader, National is not a party on the wrong side of history.

A lot of water is still to flow under the bridge between now and 19 September, but the election at this point looks like Labour’s for the taking.