Is This a Buyer’s Market?
Hi folks,
The sales statistics for January 2014 are now out and, to my fevered real estate mind, make for some very interesting reading. There were 36 Residential sales in Upper Hutt, down somewhat from 61 in January 2013 and with 366 properties for sale on Trade Me as of the 17th February the question has to asked, is this a buyer’s market?
A convoluted answer is "not yet". Without doubt the Reserve Bank’s decision to impose the Lending Valuation Ratio (LVR) has had an impact on the market. The decision was made to slow down the market and it is apparent that it has been successful, Since its introduction in October 2013 the difference in sales volume in direct comparison to the corresponding previous year is 66 sales less, October –January. To clarify there have been 66 less sales as at February 1st 2014.
The difference this time to the last time we experienced a market slowdown back in 2008 is that the number of listings has not increased so prices haven’t dropped as severely and in some cases not at all as some might have expected and as I’ve previously commented, with interest rates about to increase making house price affordability higher it seems logical to drop this dog's dinner of an experiment.
The message I would offer to anybody currently on the market is to be patient, I’m aware that’s not always possible in our industry but I’m confident the market conditions will change, it’s a shame I can’t say exactly when.
If you are thinking of selling your home or want more information on the Upper Hutt property market please call me on the numbers below or contact me via email steve@steveslicker.com alternately fill in your details here on my website.
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Kind regards, (04) 212 6787
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