Auctions attract strong bidding
Christchurch’s real estate market is active again as buyers and renters go back to seeking homes after the Christmas holidays, with January auctions attracting strong bidding.
Tony McPherson, the co-owner of real estate agency Ray White Metro, said there are many homes available but they aren’t staying on the market for too long due to high demand.
“There’s a perception that there are not many properties for sale. There are plenty of houses available, but they are selling more quickly. They’re coming in and just going out again,” McPherson said, as reported by Stuff.
He added that the past few months had been the busiest he had seen in 30 years of selling real estate.
CoreLogic revealed that Christchurch’s average home value increased by 6.2% last year, including 3.4% in the last three months of the year. Economist Kelvin Davidson said the price growth in Christchurch was “more subdued” than in other cities but “fairly solid” after little change in values for many years. He added that price rises resulted from low-interest rates and from economic activity rebounding after the COVID-19 lockdown. He expected price growth to be “a little slower” in 2021.
Meanwhile, Harcourts Accommodation Centre co-owner Nigel Bowden noted fewer homes to rent this month as many tenants had signed a lease before Christmas rather than waiting for 2021.
“Properties are renting quickly – a lot of them are renting on the first view. Rents are starting to increase, and we haven’t seen that in Christchurch for a long time so there’s a bit of catch up,” Bowden said, as reported by Stuff.
“Previously, we had too many houses because so much was built after the earthquakes. Supply exceeded demand. Now we are back in equilibrium.”
