New Zealand homes that are in first-time buyers' price range are now struggling to attract interest, auctions at Auckland's biggest real estate agency this week suggest. This comes as a shock to New Zealanders estate agents due to the immense interest when these homes were constructed, nobody expected them to be empty for very long. These are fantastic, well structured and strongly build homes that are up for sale literally going begging!
Of 19 affordable properties under the Herald's eye, only 13 of them sold at auction. However, those offered at $1 million-plus were still selling well. Based on this it seems the reason could be that there are just not as many first time buyers on the market as once thought. Agents confirm this by revealing that there is a real absence of young New Zealanders inquiring about properties and attending auctions for lower-priced homes in the city and mortgage brokers report a big fall in clients trying to secure funding.
The people greatly benefitting from this are investors, for them it's great because they don't have to compete against first-home buyers but for first-home buyers, they are just stuffed at the moment, and the volumes we are seeing are reflecting that. The research director of Quotable Value, Jonno Ingerson, said that the impact of the Reserve Bank's caps on low-deposit loans that kicked in on October 1 would be most felt by first-home buyers, and in provincial areas, affecting volume and values, although it would be some months before any evidence showed.
Housing schemes all over the country have built nearly 1000 homes with a large percentage of those being specifically aimed at first time buyers and average to low salary earners to give everyone a chance to get onto the property ladder, it seems the residents here do not want to be tied to a mortgage so these beautiful new homes are either currently empty or being auctioned off for ridiculously low prices.
This will come as great news to prospective immigrants who worry of finding a property in a new country, many may not meet the criteria needed to be eligible for one of the ‘affordable homes’ but as this report suggests there are many more properties selling at much less than the recommended retail price. The homes are throughout the country in various locations - Auckland City where for business commuters to live near work should be seen as a huge bonus, rural areas which may attract families or retiring aged people and even gated communities are currently under development.
