Buyers are ‘aggressive’ but not willing to pay ‘silly money’

New Zealand’s active property market has seen home prices climb at record levels, but buyers are reluctant to overpay for a property.

REINZ’s recent survey found that first home buyers (46 percent) and investors (31 percent) made up the bulk of interest in property, and this has led to strengthened prices.

Property prices have increased across the board, and strong buyer demand is at a level that Harveys Te Atatu business owner Paul Vujnovich has not seen during his 17 years in the industry.

“That being said, since Christmas it appears buyers do feel that current pricing levels are bordering on excessive in some situations. We have seen some properties ‘stick’ where sellers’ expectations are just simply not realistic, even given the strong buyer demand,” Vujnovich said.

“This is quite common in a market such as this where sellers increased expectations can get outside where the market sees value, even in a seller’s market such as this.”

Despite a lot of aggressive activity, Vujnovich has seen a pushback from buyers who are not prepared to pay ‘silly money’ for property, especially in the $800,000 to $1.2 million bracket.

In contrast, developers appear to have deeper pockets.

“Developers are very active and are happy to pay excellent money for ‘slam dunk’ development properties. However, a property having a large land parcel alone does not necessarily present attractively should the zoning, services and access not be favourable,” he said.

LJ Hooker principal Dylan Turner has noticed a real sense of urgency in his local market across South Auckland.

“Buyers know they are paying too much, but they understand the market should keep going up this year and continue to increase year on year into 2022,” Turner said.

He noted that there are still thousands of New Zealanders overseas who want to come home.

“Supply and demand will dictate our market trends for a few years yet,” he said. “Interest rates are still crazy low, and I really think the Reserve Bank is hamstrung with no ability to move upwards in the short term.”

Turner’s advice to homeowners considering selling is: “it’s a great time to sell, but be warned, you will want to buy again very quickly as the market can race up by one to two thousand dollars a week when the conditions are like they are now.”