Christchurch Harcourts Marketwatch - March Special Edition

The Canterbury market has been awash with commentators predicting what will happen to the real estate market since the February 22nd earthquake. Following the first full month since the earthquake we thought that facts should be shared to reflect the reality as rumor can be misleading. As a group Harcourts is responsible for more than half of all real estate transactions that take place in the region, for that reason we feel it appropriate to provide early reporting of the situation to keep the marketplace informed. The following are the Harcourts Group figures for the month against a comparison for the same period last year. We have also sought comment from people on the ground involved in the day to day business of transacting property in order to gather a feel for the current situation and the future.

There is no doubt that directly following the 22nd of February real estate was not a top priority for people in the Christchurch region including many of the Harcourts team who sustained significant damage to their homes and workplaces and lost loved ones in the earthquake. Our thoughts and support continue to go out to people in the region that are enduring ongoing hardship and dealing with losses. To support Canterbury, Harcourts network has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Red Cross and also locally been involved in working closely with support groups on the ground throughout the disaster. The efforts of the Harcourts network globally, nationally and locally will continue indefinitely to ensure that once the headlines are not focused on Christchurch, we will be.

What has become apparent very quickly following the earthquake is that Christchurch people are committed to rebuilding a city that is better than before, they see the future full of opportunity and in the main want to be part of it. Following the initial reports of masses leaving the area in search of futures elsewhere we are seeing evidence of people sorting out their living, working and schooling situations to reflect a feeling of “post earthquake normality”. We are not suggesting that things are “pre earthquake normal” people are just adjusting to the “new normal”.

As part of this process we have seen a real estate market that has defied even the the most optimistic of market commentators and in spite of difficulties faced around insurance and finance, transactions have been happening. Both written and settled sales have been positive.

Roger Dawson and Phil McGoldrick, two of Harcourts Auctioneers in the region have reported strong activity in the auction rooms with buyer demand for undamaged homes outweighing the availability. This has resulted in some properties achieving strong premiums. Throughout March both men conducted 54 auctions and have sold a staggering 28 properties under the hammer with many others being negotiated post auction. These results even surpass the pre- earthquake auction success rates.

The interest in open homes has also been strong with the following comments made by Harcourts Canterbury Business Development Manager, Jim Davis. “From what I have seen even with the wet weather over the weekend there were people out looking at the open homes and in virtually all cases they are genuine buyers, who are looking to get themselves sorted”.

Listing activity has been positive with new homes coming to the market daily, certainly down on the same time last year but up on all predictions directly post the earthquake. Concern is growing about the level of new property to the market. It may not be sufficient to meet the current levels of demand and thus prices may continue to have upward pressure due to competition between prospective purchasers. Results and prices achieved in some auctions have indicated that in some areas premiums are being obtained.

March Results – Christchurch

March 2010
March 2011

New Exclusive Listings
936
407

New Auction / Tender Listings
113
40

Property on Hand
3400
2887

Written Sales
565
340

Settled Sales
470
228

Average Price
$389,000
$350,000

We understand that looking at Christchurch as one market place is difficult as there are areas that have been significantly affected and it will be frustrating and prolonged road to recovery. The figures above do give a snapshot of the Christchurch marketplace with some positive signs emerging. In spite of the day to day difficulties Cantabrians are facing, they are a resilient and proud group of people that are going to rebuild a life and a city that only a month ago looked very difficult to imagine.

ENDS

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