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Property market shows signs of life |
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Thursday, 12 March 2009 |
BY RHONDA MARKBY - The Timaru Herald
Although property values continue to drop in some parts of Timaru, the real estate picture is not all bleak.
First-home owners have returned and there are indications the market could be starting to move again.
The latest figures issued by Quotable Value today show a national decline of 8.9 per cent in property values for the 12 months to the end of February, while in the Timaru district the decrease was 5.4 per cent, and Waimate properties lost 4.1 per cent.
QV's figures are calculated on the sales data entered into its system in the previous three-month period.
Although a Timaru home in the $220,000 to $250,000 price bracket is generally selling for $10,000 less than a year ago, that decrease is far less than that experienced in many other parts of New Zealand.
Whangarei, Gisborne and South Waikato properties have dropped about 12 per cent and parts of Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Palmerston North and South Dunedin are all in double figures.
Christchurch properties fell between 8 per cent and 9.3 per cent, while Ashburton reported a 4.9 per cent decrease and the Waitaki District 4.7 per cent.
Southland was the only area where properties gained in value.
Timaru valuer Roger Carter said he was valuing some homes at about 5 per cent less than last year . He was aware of two Timaru properties which resold recently, less than a year after being bought. One sold for $203,000, $7000 less than the owners had paid for it. Another property, bought for $253,000, has just sold for $244,000.
Despite the lower sales prices, they were still generally about 5 per cent higher than the September 2008 rateable values for the district.
A Mountainview Rd home which went on the market last month attracted six offers and sold in the first week.
Also coming back were first-home buyers who had been absent for the past six months.
Local real estate agents were speaking of February being the busiest month for some time. Sales figures for the month should be available within the week.
Like much of the country, sales in South Canterbury have dropped off in recent months. The November figures showed 80 sales in 2007 and 34 last year, December figures dropping from 52 in 2007 to 38 last year.
Only 21 homes sold in Timaru in January, less than half the sales figure for 12 months earlier.
In issuing its latest property values, QV Valuations spokesman Blue Hancock also spoke of signs of the market picking up.
"There are definite signs of more activity in the market, with more listings, more genuine buyer interest, and more sales.
"There is increasing sentiment that now is a good time to buy property, with investors returning to the market. The increase in activity also reflects the fact vendors are becoming more realistic about their property's current value," Mr Hancock said.
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