Numbers Count

“The November 27 cut in the OCR was predicted and very welcome,” says Director of City Realty Group, Daniel Horrobin.

This marks the third consecutive cut to the OCR since August, which is now at its lowest level since November 2022.

Further good news was reported in the NZ Herald in the days after the cut. “The Reserve Bank has cut the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 4.25% as widely expected, and indicated another 50 basis point cut is coming in February.”

Daniel says: “The RBNZ’s decision in October to cut 50 basis points from the OCR immediately impacted activity levels, property inspections, and auction participation across the country. Sales were 23.2% higher than in November 2023 and the number of sales was also ahead of 2023 by 17%.”

Realestate.co.nz reported buyer enquiry levels jumped following the October OCR cut. “In October, we recorded our highest level of enquiry in the residential for sale category in over two years. This was supported by users hitting an all time high, as well as international traffic to realestate.co.nz continuing to increase. 24% more people visited our site and app compared to last year.” 

Daniel says: “Of significant interest is the fact there are 50% more pre-approved buyers than the same period last year. This may have accounted for our city office sales numbers being up 26% compared to the same period last year.”

“What is also interesting is the results of ASB’s latest Housing Confidence Survey survey in Auckland where 29% of respondents were expecting house price increases, up from 13% last quarter. 

“Perhaps” says Daniel, “there is a perception for many that the market has turned and a buying decision now might be a wise one.”

Auctioneers are reporting much busier auction rooms with an expectation that will remain the case right up to Christmas. Sam Steele, Ray White’s lead auctioneer, said last year was busy with numbers up 25% on the year before, and this year was tracking to exceed those numbers.

Daniel says: “Our city office auction room was busy through November with a notable increase in pre-auction offers, which resulted in several auctions brought forward. An increase in multiple offers across the board is a further indication of a lift in buyer activity generally.”

“In fact the last auction day for the month on 28 November featuring 10 properties saw a packed auction room – the busiest attendance we have seen since moving to our new Queen Street premises nearly two years ago.”

“The number of properties available for sale on Trade Me remains steady at a touch over 600, following a solid 5% increase through October.”

“Open home numbers in our apartment market remained healthy with 450 potential buyers visiting across the 520 open homes conducted.” 

In the tenancy space, reports are that it is getting busier.

“Looking ahead, December auctions are steadily building with good numbers through to Christmas,” says Daniel.

“Speaking of auctions, we are very excited about big plans we have for January with our ‘Beat the Market’ Auction Event launching early January 2025. Those owners waiting for the New Year to go to market will appreciate the importance of beating the competition timing-wise. We have the perfect solution, says Daniel. “So watch this space”.