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Housing bubble non-existent, says real estate boss |
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Source: Timaru Herald
26 May 2006
The real estate bubble is nothing more than a myth.
And the mythical bubble certainly hasn't burst, according to Real Estate Institute of New Zealand chief executive Christine Le Cren.
Mrs Le Cren was in Timaru last night to attend the institute's South Canterbury sub-district annual meeting.
Ask her about the pundits who keep predicting the real estate bubble is about to burst and Mrs Le Cren just laughs.
"A lot of people like to comment on the real estate market, but those who are preaching doom and gloom for the industry are simply wrong," she said, suggesting a look at the statistics would dispel the myth.
"With the exception of the occasional spike, the national figures have shown a straight line incline for the last three years."
Mention the arrival of the TradeMe website's property section, and Mrs LeCren says it has made little difference.
"There have always been those who have wanted to sell their home themselves, but the majority still opt to work through an agent.
"At the same time the institute recognises the importance of getting its own website property marketplace REALENZ fully operational."
Mrs Le Cren suspects there are still very few people who do purchase a property sight-unseen, via the internet.
To her the internet is simply another tool for the industry, yet another way to sell properties.
"One of the main issues facing the industry is how to raise its professional standards."
Mrs Le Cren believes its complaints process is robust. In the last year three of the 1500 licensees had their licences cancelled following disciplinary hearings. There were now 17,100 people working in the industry. Yet in spite of that number increasing, the number of complaints was not growing accordingly.
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