Manager's Comments 23-11-15

REMINDER. To have your deal settled in January, you need to do a review now. Time is marching on; Christmas madness is already showing its head. I notice more and more Christmas parties on in town, and Christmas lights all over (doesn’t Centre City look great?). The fact is time is scurrying away. The time to act is now, or miss the boat. Talk to your agent about the marketing, the advertising, and the pricing. You may change nothing, but do the review. Harcourts has some great BluePrint specials, which may be very useful over Christmas. A full-page feature for $460 Inc. GST. Yes, full page, with editorial as well. That is unequalled value. There are special upgrades on both Open2view.co.nz and Realestate.co.nz which increase viewings and exposure many fold. Talk to your agent now; get in front of this market with your new message.
 
John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 9-11-15

Get sold before Christmas, there is time, and there are buyers wanting property. We have 5 ½ weeks. Make a firm plan with your agent. Do a complete review of marketing, of price and of the cost if you’re not sold before late January. Yes, late January. On Christmas Eve the buyers are off until mid January. They lose interest; their lawyers are on holiday, its family time. If we don’t get them before Christmas Eve we wait for them to do the Christmas, New Year thing and get back into Buyer mode. Mid January. The process will take a little while, so a quick sale may take until the end of January to complete. Given your commitment now, we can make the sale happen before Christmas. Give you certainty; a worry free holiday period will be an extra reward. Do the review as soon as possible, get sold before Christmas.

John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 28-9-15

Well, daylight saving has arrived, the weather has really turned. Now we know spring is definitely here and summer is coming. Longer daylight hours give us more time to showcase your property. Twilight open homes can be very effective from now on. This time of the year we can expect more listings to come into the market, increasing your competition. You have the advantage just now, so use it before it erodes. Make sure your marketing is effective and your pricing is reflective of comparative value. Now is a good time to liaise with your agent and review the strategy. Good sales are being made at present, be sure you get amongst them.

John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 14-9-15

Our move into Devon Street is progressing, but it will take a while to complete the fit out to our satisfaction.  Quite a lot remains to be done, but a lot has been accomplished in 3 weeks as well. All our agents are settled into the new environment, all our IT and communications are in place. It’s functional and its productive already thanks to our amazing building & painting team led by Graeme Rogers. We feel we are home now.
The New Plymouth market is still flat-lining in a pretty positive way. 75 New Plymouth sales in August, median price bang on $350,000. It’s what we expect, steady as she goes. The 0.25% reduction in the OCR keeps the cost of mortgage money as cheap as it’s been for generations. Very few banks quote rates over 5.99%, some start with a 4. First home buyers entry to the market is easier now, their buying power up to $350,000 in New Plymouth. Spring has emerged from the cold wet winter; the days are longer and warmer. We expect the steady market to continue right up until Christmas.

John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 1-9-15

Harcourts office has moved to a new location at 51 Devon Street West, on the corner of Brougham & Devon. Our new home is a little bigger than the old one, and when completely finished will serve us well for years to come. Some of the infrastructure is still being finished, but we hope to be pretty much settled in by early next week. Nothing else has changed. We are still number 1 on line at taranakiharcourts.co.nz , we are still at P O Box 610 NP and you can call us on 0800 we sell. Business as usual, but in a new location.

John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 17-8-15

The market has become very tough over the last 3-4 weeks. Buyers, although still very much active, are cautious and frugal. I’m not sure if it’s the winter blues, some trepidation about the future look of the local economy, or just a blip on the radar. It is fair to say good economic news in Taranaki is sparse and a rural downturn is apparent. This always filters through our local economy to some extent. However there is a feeling things here are not as focused on farm incomes as in the past. Our economy is more diverse than it was at the end of the 20th century. We are still growing our population. Employment is still high. Interest rates are minimal and funds are available. Opportunities for astute buyers are here now and that gets them moving. Price and promotion are king. Get those two in line and you take the advantage.

John Christiansen

Manager's Comments 20-7-15

Winter is the slowest time of year for real estate sales. There are just less daylight hours and it’s often cold and wet. However buyers are not seasonal, they develop new needs all year round. Increasing family, empty nest, marriage, death, transfer, all manner of everyday issues mean people need to move house. That is why there are still buyers and sellers all year round.
One of our agents had an inner city property that was not getting the buyer interest it should have. Right price, reasonable promotion, not a lot of interest. She did what needed to be done. She changed things, upped the ante, listed the property for auction. Since the first Auction ad there has been real and constant buyer interest. This property should sell at auction; there certainly is enough buyer interest to negotiate a deal post auction at least. Have a think about your property if that scenario seems familiar. Auction can make a real difference to buyer perception. It says very loud and clear – FOR SALE NOW.

John Christiansen