Real estate agents had been expecting 2020 to be the biggest year in real estate since the last market peak, in 2015-2016. And that was before they counted November's house sales.
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Agents told OneRoof last week that November sales would break records. In a year that saw the housing market shut down for more than a month and the world economy thrown into chaos, it's mind-boggling that the New Zealand real estate industry is enjoying record month after record month.
According to figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, more than $50 billion worth of property was sold in the 10 months to the end of October, nearly 20 percent up on the same period last year.
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REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said: “Having already surpassed last year’s figure is significant, given that the entire country was in lockdown for just over a month. During that period just over $1 billion in real estate transactions took place.
“With November looking as if it will have been another busy month in terms of transactions, it will be anyone’s guess as to how far 2020’s data exceeds 2019’s."
In the past, listings and activity start to wind down in December and January, but agents predict an unusually busy summer season, on the back of the bookings they've taken so far.
Ray White Epsom agent Ross Hawkins told OneRoof: “This year will be completely different from the others. We’ll be selling right through [the Christmas break].”
Hawkins recently sold a four bedroom home at 98 Coates Avenue, in Orakei, Auckland, with colleague Caleb Rufer for $4.81 million - more than $1 million over its 2017 CV - and he sees no let-up in buyer demand.
The agent, who sells up-scale properties around Auckland central suburbs, as well as luxury homes in the Bay of Islands and Queenstown, has listings coming through right up to Christmas. “There’ll be ex-pats home for Christmas so this is a good opportunity to reach them. They’ll maybe not go back.”
49 Gloucester Road, in Manurewa, Auckland, sold for $1.305 million under the hammer last month. Photo / Supplied
Martin Cooper, owner of Harcourts Cooper & Co on Auckland's North Shore, said his company’s sales revenue for November would be “back into March 2015 territory, the last time when it was this busy".
“This year to November, we’ll be up 31 percent on the same 11 months last year. And November alone will be up over 55 percent on last year.”
Cooper said that around 60 percent of his agents' November sales were by auction – 36 out of 44 sold in last week’s auctions – but the other 40 percent were off market.
“We approach listings on behalf of buyers looking in a particular area and with off-market, the buyer puts the biggest offer to the vendor. But the true test is still a saturation marketing campaign and then we get them all on the front lawn [auction]. That’s the best.”
In South Auckland, Tom Rawson, co-owner of Ray White offices in Manurewa, Manukau and Mangere Bridge, said that even before month end, November sales volumes were up 64 percent on November 2019.
“It’s insane. Volumes are up and the amount of offers is five times or more [than last year]. A house priced at $659,00 sold for $811,000, there were 22 written offers above the asking price."
At auction this week a house at 49 Gloucester Road, Manurewa, sold for $1.305 million. “It only settled in June for $810,000 – that's $495,000 in five months. The vendor had done nothing, it was just tenanted. They’d thought about getting a consent [to develop] but thought they’d try the market. It far exceeded what they’d anticipated.
“We’re seeing buyers getting remorse because they could have pushed themselves and paid more.”
Ray White Remuera owner Megan Jaffe said her office was on track to break its personal best sales number for the fifth month in a row, with sales up a whopping 60 per cent up on last November.
“But it’s not about the money or the numbers, it’s when a really good agent works in the vendor’s best interests. We work from Mount Roskill to St Heliers, so we’d be by far the busiest office. We don’t like to show off, because it’s all about the sellers and helping the buyers.”
Carolyn Vernon, branch manager of Barfoot and Thompson Remuera, said that vendors were asking for auctions as late as December 22, while others are listing for the start of January, rather than the typical end of January/post Waitangi start to the market.
“We had the biggest September and October since pre-2015 and November will be record-breaking. November last year was a stellar month, but we have surpassed that with number of sales and value."
She added: “But it’s just a cycle, sensibility will reign and things will balance out.”
