More houses to sell conditional on property sale

Media release – August 12, 2007

More houses to be sold conditional on sale of property predicts longest-running private sale real estate company

Spring fever will still hit for home owners who have been waiting for better weather to list their homes, but it won’t be easy, New Zealand longest-running private sale real estate company, Homesell said today.

Homesell director Kirsty Gillespie said the spring flush will create less urgency for buyers who will face a greater number of homes to choose from.

``I predict far more sales conditional on the sale of a property, which has virtually been unheard of for the last 3 years.

``Next year, more people will market their homes privately as they seek to keep a high return for their sale or some leverage room so that they can price their homes slightly more competitively than an agent to achieve a quicker sale.

`` Those that do not sell through agents will try selling their own homes rather than be forced to take a ridiculously low price through an agency and then lose more in commission as well.’’

Gillespie said homeowners who borrowed against the collateral in their homes will probably consider selling if the rental return next year hasn’t been as high as expected and as fixed terms on interest rates mature.

Some homeowners will consider downsizing so they have more manageable mortgages. This could have an impact on people choosing not to build more substantial architecturally designed homes.

She said the ‘inflation’ caused by agents selling a house every three years (NZ average) and taking close to four percent of the sale price each time was far more significant than the small interest rate rises from banks.

`` Only by witnessing the response to an open home can a home seller be sure they are getting a fair market price for their property. If a sale happens before the open days how do you know the agent hasn’t sold to a developer or friend at significantly below market price. Many of the proposed changes to the real estate act are helpful but unless an agent has to disclose any action taken against them and their relationship to the buyer then the vendor could well be at their mercy.’’

Homesell is the longest running private real estate company in New Zealand and they have sold 7000 homes around New Zealand since 2002. Their biggest market areas are Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and Tauranga.

They arrange for homeowners to sell without having to pay a real estate commission. Their upfront fee of less than $2000 - well under 1 percent of property sale price on average - is for advertising homes in a free property paper, street sign, open home signs and website. They say some owners have saved over $30,000 by not having to go through real estate agents.

Photo: Homesell directors Kirsty Gillespie and Ali Clarke (see photolink) : http://www.homesell.co.nz/aboutus.php

ENDS

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