“With a hiss and a roar, we’re underway” says Director of City Realty Group, Daniel Horrobin.
“We have more than 50 auctions booked up to the end of February for the City Realty Group as a whole, with the majority of those in our Central office” adds a delighted Daniel.
The positivity surrounding the property market is supported by a number of sources.
Perhaps the most revealing are statistics released by the Real Estate Institute comparing activity through their website in December 2023 with December 2022 (a year before).
In December 2023 REINZ saw:
In addition to those positive signs is commentary such as that from Squirrel chief executive David Cunningham. He said interest rates should already have dropped, given the sharp fall in wholesale rates before Christmas.
“I would be surprised if we don’t see most fixed interest rates down between 0.5% and 1% by March. Bank margins are very wide at the moment.”
Then, to top it off, was a December Beehive announcement, made by Nicola Willis on 20 December 2023, confirming the Coalition Government promises,.
“Today I am announcing our immediate decision to bring the brightline test for residential property back to two years, effective from 1 July 2024. Removing this effective capital gains tax means that properties sold after 1 July 2024 will only be subject to the rule if owned for less than two years.”
“I am also confirming the Government’s commitment to fully restoring interest deductibility for rental properties, with details of the phasing of this commitment to be the subject of an announcement in the New Year.”
Daniel says: “It is perhaps the second paragraph that will impact most on our Central City Apartment market, which is made up predominantly of investment properties.”
Rental demand remained strong over the break with extraordinary numbers of people turning up for well-presented properties. Daniel says there is a high standard of applicants for rentals.
“All indications are we are in for a busy 2024,” says Daniel.
How Low Can It Go? The Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) on 20 August from 3.25% to 3%. This marks a 2.5 percentage point drop since the easing cycle began exactly a year ago. In May, the bank anticipated the OCR would bottom out at 2.9% in … Read more
Pause For Breath The Reserve Bank of New Zealand held the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 3.25% on 9 July, as widely expected. According to Interest.co.nz, the Monetary Policy Committee opted to pause while it assessed persistent inflation pressures and the pace of the country’s economic recovery. While a rate … Read more