Hibiscus Coast Market and Helensville
The Hibiscus Coast residential property market has, over the first nine months of 2011, been quite active with good but fluctuating levels of sales activity. Some real estate firms have in fact reported record sales in certain months. The majority of this activity has occurred in the low to medium price brackets of up to $600,000. Demand has been less in the higher price brackets however there has still been a good number of sales up to $900,000. The number of sales over $1,000,000 has been quite limited and open market sales of prime beachfront properties virtually non-existent.
There is a common theme of a lack of market listings and many vendors are now happy to sit and wait for the market to meet their price. This possibly indicates that many of the vendors who were under financial pressure have now disappeared from the market.
In Helensville there have been periods of strong market activity, mainly at price levels below $400,000. The area has particularly appealed to first home buyers who consider that with low home mortgage interest rates and high rents that purchasing a home is more affordable.
Within the last month market activity has noticeably reduced and the normally anticipated spring lift, with increased market listings, has not occurred. Focus may well be elsewhere at present with the Rugby World Cup, school holidays and upcoming General Election.
Rural / Lifestyle Market
The rural lifestyle market continues to be a difficult market to achieve sales in, although activity has improved on 2010. Greatest activity has been in the areas such as Dairy Flat, Wainui and Waitoki, which are closer to the main urban centres. Sales volumes diminished noticeably in the fringe localities and particularly in areas perceived as more remote such as north of Kaukapakapa, Glorit and inland. This reflects the normal trend which occurs during an economic downturn where buyers are not willing to incur additional travelling costs and the associated costs of owning a lifestyle block.
Good quality, well located lifestyle blocks have been selling in the $900,000-$1,600,000 bracket. Sales have occurred in excess of this however tend to be exceptional and very substantial executive style dwellings on highly developed properties. The market for vacant lifestyle blocks remains depressed and values of these have retracted noticeably from 2006-2007 values. Sites which may have sold in the $700,000-$800,000 bracket are now more likely to realise in the $500,000-$600,000 bracket. There have been few sales of uneconomic farmlets in the 20-50 hectare range and the limited number of sales of larger rural holdings have indicated significant value reductions.
