It’s a good time to be selling a home, say the region’s real estate agents, with houses being snapped up within days.
Agents say the low number of homes on the marker is normal for this time of year but buyer demand hasn’t dropped from the summer months and that’s creating hot demand at open homes.
One Nelson couple had only just finished unpacking their belongings in their new Atawhai home when an agent knocked on the door, saying he had a buyer for their home if they wanted to sell.
Marc Evans says he only took possession of his home three weeks ago.
“We had just moved in and I was out in the garden getting it into shape, when I saw a couple walk past with a real estate agent. They got in their car and the agent came over and said, “that couple liked your house. They’re from Auckland and are cash buyers.” I said “I’m not looking to sell, we’re still unpacking.”
Mike Pero Real Estate’s Mitchell Wilson says just last week they had five offers on one home.
“Stock levels are a lot lower than usual and that’s just because they’re going out faster than we can list them. There are still a lot of buyers out there, what we tend to find is that a lot of Nelsonians tend to wait until the spring, but right now there’s less competition.”
There have been reports of agents knocking on doors, asking people if they’d like to sell. One homeowner in Victory said she had four agents knock on her door within a fortnight.
Mitchell says it’s normal for agents to drop flyers and knock on doors year round, but the lack of properties means there may be more than normal.
Ben Nalder of Summit Real Estate says, as the number of properties for sale drops agents get more proactive in trying to get listings.
“We’re really tight on listings but have plenty of buyers and many of them are from out of town. Just recently I’ve sold plenty of homes to Auckland investors. Anything well-presented and well-priced is getting multiple offers.”
Last week, Mark Rumsey of First National told Nelson Weekly that they’ve seen huge growth over the past 12 months, with his firm selling three times as many homes in the past fortnight compared to what they did last year. “What we’re seeing is unpresented demand, especially in the $280,000-$440,000 price range. Driving that is low interest rates and banks relaxing of the amount needed for a deposit, people are using their Kiwisaver to get into their first home and saying ‘I’ve had enough of waiting, let’s do it’.”
