Increased interest in the lakes real estate market is indicative of a general upturn in interest in Rotorua real estate which is leaving agents cautiously optimistic.
Ray White Rotorua recently sold a waterfront Lake Rotoiti property (pictured above with Ray White auctioneer James Alexander) for more than $1.2 million and has cited the sale as proof of an increasingly active market.
Ray White Rotorua co-owner Anita Martelli said in the past four or five weeks they’d noticed an increase in inquiries from people looking at properties around the lakes.
Mrs Martelli said interest was spread across properties at all the lakes, which was good, and had resulted in some impressive sales over the $1 million mark, including the Rotoiti property. “Most of them have been for holiday homes, but a couple have been people looking for permanent homes.” She said the market had been positive and she believed the next lot of real estate sales figures would reflect that.
Part of the appeal of the lakes was fond memories among people who had holidayed there in the past, while others saw it as good-value buying compared with the Auckland market. Other have also noticed an increase in out-of-town buyers coming into the Rotorua market again – in the lakes area and in general- with a mix of investors and people relocating to Rotorua.
“After a strong October – which saw more properties sold in Rotorua in October than any other month of 2014 to-date – buyer confidence seemed to increase” said Rae Beale, Central and Lower North Island Business Performance Manager for Ray White New Zealand. Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) sales figures showed 93 residential properties were sold in October at a median sale price of $275,000.
Ray White Rotorua‘s Anita Martelli said she thought the boost was due to buyer confidence. “The banks are definitely helping there in terms of what they can do now. People are out there looking and Rotorua is perceived as a very desirable place to come. You can get a good property for a a small price compared to Auckland… We’re hoping to get over 100 [properties sold] again, where the market used to be. It was at 56 in April and then the 70s since, to get into the 90s – that’s a real positive.”
Information sourced: Rebecca Malcolm’s “Rising Lake Sales Bode Well for Region” Rotorua Daily Post, and Alison King’s “October’s House Sales Highest of Year“, Rotorua Daily Post