Newsletter

The property market certainly hasn’t dipped with the chillier temperatures and there are some staggering prices being achieved.  Activity at Blue Fern has been stellar over the last quarter, with $89 million of sales, a record for us. To put this into perspective, during the same period last year we sold a total of $56 million.

But just who is buying these homes? There’s nothing the New Zealand media loves more than to write about the state of the property market. This month, the focus was on who is buying our properties after supposed leaked numbers showed that 39.5% of Auckland property sales were to Asian buyers.

As real estate agents, our view is simple. We’re here to get the best possible price for our vendors, within the guidelines of the field we operate in. Enabling our vendors to fulfil their goals to get to the next stage of their property journey will always be our objective.

Chinese buyers do represent a percentage of purchases in Auckland, but they are not the only ones buying property. We also need to put the figures into perspective by looking at the make-up of our country’s largest city. Eighty percent of immigrants choose to settle in Auckland and as long as we have a net migration inflow, Auckland will find itself under pressure for housing supply. We’re renowned internationally as having an enviable lifestyle and those who leave their homes for our fair shores aren’t just Asian, and the reality is, neither is all our real estate transactions conducted by this group.

In saying that, Chinese buyers do have a significant presence in West Auckland, purely because it offers better value for money than other parts of the city, especially for those that are being priced out of the market in other areas. West Auckland gives people the lifestyle they want and it’s only 15 minutes from the city. Increasingly we’re seeing the rise of the West, with more attention on this part of Auckland than we’ve seen in the past.

It’s heartening to see leaps and bounds on the development front in the local area, especially around Riverhead and Kumeu. Even I was surprised and delighted by the sheer amount of new subdivisions underway recently. It’s great to see that some of the promises we hear in the media and from the Government are actually coming to fruition. And the even better news is that more housing is on its way. With little effect forecasted by the rumblings in both the Greek and Chinese economy, Auckland’s allure and booming market looks set to continue

Michelle Baya