Homes with prices ranging from $500,000 to $600,000 in hot demand
Cheap homes in Hamilton’s real estate market are attracting the interest of buyers from New Zealand’s largest cities, according to a local real estate agent.
Hamilton homes with prices ranging from $500,000 to $600,000 are in hot demand, accounting for 20% of total sales.
The figure was a dramatic rise from the 10-12% of the market this price bracket usually accounted for, with people returning from their summer holiday and looking to settle down, Jeremy O’Rourke, Lodge Real Estate managing director, told Newshub.
The attendance number for open homes surged by 40% compared to early December, which O’Rourke said was due to a significant increase in first-home buyer and investor activity.
“There’s really strong interest in the market, and they’re not just looking; they’re ready to transact,” he said.
In December, Lodge City Rentals had its biggest leasing month in its 40-year history, signing 175 tenancies, with 38% of those tenancies were people coming from outside the city and looking to rent before potentially buying property, he said.
O’Rourke said the market will benefit from this movement, as “first-home buyers release first-home sellers further up the ladder to upgrade and buy their next home.”
“It would have been a challenge to find a decent property in the $500,000-$600,000 bracket 18 months ago, but with the considerable price adjustments buyers have recognised that they can now find good value in this segment of the market,” he said.
Of the more than 3,700 properties under management at Lodge City Rentals, only 30 properties are now available.
O’Rourke expected competition to increase between investors and first-home buyers.
“We could find competition ramps up, as the stock in the $500,000 to $600,000 price bracket gets snapped up within the next few months,” he said.
Even with ANZ slashing its home loan rates by 55 basis points from Feb. 2, after news that unemployment lifted to 3.4%, O’Rourke said “it’s still hard to predict how interest rates and inflation will track over the next 12 months.”
He believed most factors indicated that the Hamilton market picking up due to city growth and pressure on accommodation were not easing.
“More people are seeing Hamilton as a great lifestyle choice, with major events,” O'Rourke told Newshub, citing the FIFA Women's World Cup set to “invigorate” the city as an example.
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