The last three months could be best described as stop-start for the real estate market during the election period and the transition through to the announcement of the new government in October 2017. The pre-election and post-election period saw the momentum slow down in regards to sales numbers as there was uncertainty around the formation of the government, which has recently been clarified for the country to move forward with the Labour-led coalition.
When you take the November numbers in isolation there has been a strong recovery with the headline number for the Ray White Group being in excess of $750 million which was an increase of 3.3% on the same period last year and an increase on the last month’s results, being October, by 14%. In terms of productivity, this was also reflected throughout our group, seeing a lift of 4.4% with days on market remaining constant at 36.
Our leading Ray White offices increased their turnover by 19%. Across the nation, these included Ray White City Apartments, Ray White Ponsonby, Ray White Remuera, Ray White Rolleston, and Ray White Wanaka. Offices who achieved personal best results included Ray White Bishopdale, Ray White Rolleston, Ray White Sandringham, and Ray White Wanaka.
When you take a close look at the sales numbers, it shows a 7.1% increase on the same time last year and almost a 20% increase in last month’s sales. What does stand out are the residential listings that have been secured by Ray White members showing a record number of properties with the total listings being 2,002. This is a 15.9% increase on last month and the stock added by our group has increased by 33.9%, which equates to the number of residential listings less the number of residential sales.
Carey Smith, Chief Executive of Ray White New Zealand, said “The results for November bounced back strongly. While there have been some confidence issues surrounding buyers and sellers, the November sales numbers which traditionally are the strongest of the year, exceeded expectation with our group members achieving outstanding results collectively. There continue to be cautionary signs for both buyers and sellers, with the new government bringing in changes around the overseas investment criteria. There has also been an indication by the Reserve Bank that they are reviewing the loan to value ratio levels to potentially remove these, which currently restrain many first home buyers. The increased level of stock will give buyers more choice and vendors can remain confident that there is a strong buyer pool that will continue with immigration and low-interest rates, which are both a key influence to the property market.”
Ray White has 157 offices across New Zealand and this month welcomes Ray White Pukehina. Ray White also wish to acknowledge those members who have recommitted to the Group during November including Ray White Mission Bay and Ray White Kohimarama. We welcome new owners at Ray White Papanui, Ray White Te Puke and Ray White Full Circle.
@careysmith @raywhitenz