Sunday 24 May 2015

Manager's Comments 25-5-15

17 of our New Plymouth sales team attended the annual Harcourts Conference held over 3 days at Sky City last week. Over 1000 delegates heard from an array of fine speakers, attended several workshops, and generally ‘upskilled’ over the period. There were even a few quiet drinks with colleagues from all over New Zealand, further cementing a referral network second to none in the world. This is all part of our continuing education programme. We are required to do 20 hours every year of continuing education, but your average New Plymouth Harcourts Agent will end up doing about twice that by time the year finishes. Just another way we try to be the best realtors we can be, which is a win win situation for you and for us.

 John Christiansen

Sunday 10 May 2015

Manager's Comments 11-5-15

The Auckland market continues to get massive publicity as it strides forward and capital gains are reported that are completely out of sync with the rest of New Zealand. Even Christchurch can’t compete with its huge shortages and multi billion dollar government post quake spending. It’s easy to see how sellers could expect some rub off in the local market, and how price expectations could lift on the back of all this hype. Don’t be fooled. The Auckland market is driven hard by a massive shortage of housing. In New Plymouth the supply is easily satisfying the demand. Rents, especially at the top end, have fallen. The Energy sector has shrunk. Farmers are tight at present. Local demand for housing has diminished. New Plymouth prices are steady, flat, showing no real growth. Competition for outstanding properties is good, but price is always a factor for our buyers. They will not pay premiums without competition. Talk to your agent about how we do that most effectively.

John Christiansen