After surveying our first 100 sales in December we found over a quarter of those to be investors selling up.
28% of our sellers were cashing up their investment properties sighting reasons such as too many requirements in compliance with the new healthy homes standards, tougher tenancy laws, new interest deductability rules,and increasing interest rates. Investors also thought it was a good time to sell given the strength of demand in the market.
This poses problems for the ever-decreasing pool of ma and pa investors who make up over 70% of the rental property available throughout NZ.The second largest group were people cashing up and moving out to regional New Zealand at 17%, add to that those moving overseas at 5% and the group swells to 23%. We are seeing many people leaving the city with Hawke’s Bay being a popular location followed by the South Island.
The survey also found 13% of our sellers were trading up and 11% downsizing, and with Auckland’s recent 107-day lock down where people were confined to their bubbles at home, as per the 2020 extended lock down, we find again peoples homes not being fit for purpose requiring a home office or more space for teenagers, all driving motivation to move.
Separation is featuring as another reason for selling at 6%, surprising low given some anecdotal evidence of couples during lock down realising their bubble was not for them.
A rising star on the reason for selling is the sale of the family home for a development site, and as the unitary plan allows for higher density housing we will see this reason for selling increase substantially in the months ahead. A recent example of this was four neighbouring family homes for 30 years in Unsworth Heights selling and 26 new three-bedroom homes going in, showing just how dramatically the suburban landscape is changing. This intensification creates more and more pressure on the city’s infrastructure, traffic, parking amenities, and schools, to accommodate all the new families moving in.
The changing time of where we live, and how we live, will certainly challenge our city’s leaders and decision makers over the year ahead.
Congratulations to our last 100 sellers in December, and may the changes and opportunities you have created by your decision to move up or down, or even out to give someone else a go, help enrich the wonderful city of Auckland.
