Investors starting to pick up pace

Greater numbers of investors have been hunting property bargains as real estate prices stabilise and the number of days houses spend on the market drop.

Friday, October 17th 2008, 4:12PM

by The Landlord

Several real estate agents around the country who specialise in the investor market have noticed more enquiries and a steady number of sales.

Dennis Combs of Ray White Hamilton says investors are just starting to come back. “They can see the sharemarket starting to move ahead and there’s a perception the real estate market has bottomed out. We believe they are educated and coming to the realisation that it’s time to start buying again.”

Also in Hamilton, Campbell Scott of Lodge Real Estate agrees there are more investors looking. He says, the thinking is, if it’s not at the bottom, then it’s low enough. Investors are aware mortgage rates are likely to drop on October 23 and maybe a couple more times.

However, the level of interest probably hasn’t transpired to market sales just yet. “The number of additional enquiries far outweighs the number of additional sales we’re getting. Some are waiting for next Thursday’s announcement to see where it’s going before they commit.”

Scott says last month (September) Hamilton was 16% up on August sales. When he looked into those sales, the greater proportion were first home buyers buoyed by the lower interest rates. “Typically, investors follow that cycle,” he says. “Once buyers get out there, pretty soon after, the investors follow.”

In Wellington, John Ross of The Professionals Hutt City tells of one landlord who needed cash for his daily business and decided to sell all 17 of his rental properties over the last few weeks. The rental properties were lapped up by keen investor buyers for good prices. “Because prices have dropped back by 20% and the rental returns were good, they were very attractive. The reason they’re buying is because the rental income versus prices they are paying can now be justified again.”

And in Christchurch, Layne Harwood of Simes & Co says after a slower period, professional investors are definitely getting back into the market. “We’ve sold quite a few [investment properties] recently – a number of big investment blocks. They’re well sought-after by professional people. They have high yields and good capital gains. People are looking mainly for homes close to the city and around the big shopping nodes. They have to be well-located and have at least three bedrooms.”

Harwood adds that his company has not felt any pressure around rents. “The company attracts at least one new rental a day and there are no issues in finding tenants.”

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