CEO Comments by Carey Smith March 2018
As the first quarter of 2018 comes to a close there is the traditional surge of property listings which allows an increased selection for purchasers and this, in turn, passes through to increase sales particularly across the area of residential. With interest rates continuing to be steady this is allowing buyers to move forward with confidence given prices are stable and the available properties are at a higher level.
For sellers, increased competition can be a blessing given that the buyer pool has raised also. This can allow individual properties to have more focus and be measured against other properties in the market. Generally, if you are presenting value then your property will also receive buyer attention.
Realestate.co.nz property report shows in February there were just over 11,200 new listings that came to the market, this was down 4.5% from the previous year. The total portfolio available for purchases has increased by 3% to 27,000.
The market summary would be considered balanced, and while we do see continued new properties coming to the market this will be offset by increased purchasers.
Rental investment properties have been in the headlines mainly for the shortage of stock and also increase in rental prices. While there continues to be rental properties coming to the market this is essentially about the movement of occupiers, and this in itself can increase demand on the available rental stock. Most of the city and city fringe areas of Auckland are experiencing the highest demand and this is also where the prices are increasing the most.
There has been a wave of legislative changes that have been absorbed in the area of Property Management and we have been able to provide educational documents to ensure we are positioned for landlords and tenants to provide better relationship and housing conditions across New Zealand.
We have produced documents which include the Landlord Guide, Tenant Guide, and more recently showing how our property managers add value to the management of landlords’ investments.
On the Ray White front, it has been a strong start to 2018 with market share continuing to increase across New Zealand, now sitting at 19.2% in sales numbers. During 2017 we had a record number of new officers join our network and this was mainly in the lower North Island with the Leaders Real Estate Group of offices becoming part of Ray White. This increased the overall network 157 offices throughout New Zealand.
One of the highlights of our Ray White calendar each year is our group franchise or Crows Nest Conference. This year we are proud that our Head of Property Management for New Zealand Zac Snelling was awarded the group Cutting Edge Award for his work in the area of Property Management. In particular around the Landlord Event and also the education information that he has provided to the network for landlords and tenants.
On behalf of our clients, Ray White New Zealand is gearing up for a National Marketing Statement from late April, which provides exclusive opportunities for property marketing. All Ray White salespeople have details of the upgrade offers available to our sellers and online marketing opportunities.
You will see in the marketplace Ray White continues to undertake our re-brand positioning. The emphasis of the new brand ensures that property marketing receives the highest level of response through careful positioning of property profiling. In addition to this, changes have been made to our websites which aggregate mapping and present much more detail about each property to support buyer enquiry directly through to our salespeople.
Our Ray White Group has 157 offices across New Zealand and much of our continued growth relies on the significant loyalty and tenure shown by our business owners. So far in 2018, we have had a number recommit to the Ray White Group. This includes Ray White Birkenhead in Auckland, Ray White Papamoa and Ray White Mount Maunganui in the Central North Island. In the upper South Island Ray White Richmond and Ray White Nelson. In the area of Property Management, Asset Rentals on the North Shore of Auckland have also recommitted to the Group.
This year Ray White New Zealand is proud to celebrate the 25th Anniversary in May. This will bring together our network of members at Spark Arena for the 2018 Recognition evening which will not only acknowledge our past year’s performance but also our founding members and the significant contribution that many of our members have made to the success of Ray White New Zealand.
Carey Smith
New Zealand Chief Executive
csmith@raywhite.com
@careysmith
More about Carey Smith
Ray White New Zealand Facebook