Waipā real estate agents are quietly acknowledging what appears to be a lift in the market but are not celebrating yet despite figures out this week showing listings have increased.
Cambridge News 5 September 2024
The average price for the 66 Cambridge listings on realestate.co.nz went above $1 million – still down on the $1.13 million in the same month last year – prompting one company to describe the market as “little green shoots.”
David Soar
David Soar, a director of Cambridge Real Estate, said agents are working “in the trenches”.
Peter Tong of More-Re, Cambridge, said his agents had been “flat out” with contracts since the Reserve Bank lowered the official cash rate.
“People were waiting,” he said.
Average attendance numbers are up at open homes and sales volumes for Cambridge and Leamington are the highest for four years.
Peter Tong
“With the official cash rate reducing and possible further reductions pre-Christmas resulting in interest rates reducing, this has encouraged a few parties to not only start looking, but also to make offers,” said Soar.
Figures released by the online company show average asking prices in Waipā last month – which takes in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Kaipaki, Karāpiro, Kihikihi, Leamington, Ngāhinapōuri , Ōhaupō, Pirongia, Rukuhia, Te Miro and Te Pahu – lifted 10.8 per cent from July to $963,609.
But it was Cambridge where the real activity took place followed by Te Awamutu which had 36 online listings averaging $816,000.
Photo: RDNE Stock project. pexels.com
Listings in the other Waipā settlements – which included four in Kihihiki and three in Leamington – were too low to be of any statistical relevance.
The News understands there are 330 houses and sections on the market in Cambridge-Leamington and 262 in Te Awamutu-Kihihiki.
Soar said Auckland buyer numbers seemed to have dipped but he was expecting that to change once the City of Sails market picks up.
“A number of them still want to move south from Auckland but they want to wait until they have a contract in place to sell their Auckland property first or indeed have sold.”
Tong said time would tell if the positive vibes continued but his experience showed when deposit rates fell at banks, mum and dad investors head back to the real estate market.
“We’re burning the midnight oil and our agents are working hard,” he said.
The optimistic lift in real estate comes the same week a review on the boom in retirement village living reveals Waikato has 12 per cent of all villages nationally.
Peter Carr
Cambridge accounts for a big chunk of that. Former Resthome Association president Peter Carr says there are even more coming.
The industry has been growing steadily since the mid-1980s and the key to entry effectively involves selling a home to afford the entry price.
It is estimated that by the end of 2023 more than 53,000 people were living in 470 retirement villages. The number does not include people living in retirement homes.
“Coming down the pipeline are a large number of people now in their 60s who have chosen not to own homes and have built the required equity,” said Carr.
“When the current tranche of village dwellers has moved on in, say, 15 years’ time, it will be necessary to turn the villages into a mix of the current system and rental accommodation.”
Auckland boasts 2613 units across 106 villages, making it the region with the highest concentration of villages and residents.
But with three rest homes under construction, Cambridge is poised to become the country’s “capital” in terms of concentration and as many as one in 20 residents – 1650 people with an average age of 81 – live in the town’s eight villages. There are 47 retirement villages in Waikato.
The review, released by real estate and investment management company JLL says 932 units will have to be built each year for the next quarter of a century to meet demand.
Carr said newbuilds are already falling short of demand.
Over the past decade that number has been just shy of 1700 a year – a figure easily eclipsed in 2023 when the total reached 2298.
Despite current growth, the review warns of a potential shortfall in retirement village units by 2033 and 2048. One of the industry big hitters Ryman Healthcare hit the pause button on five sites in New Zealand and Australia earlier this year but continued with its Cambridge development.
It was a slick presentation at the Ryman village launch with powerpoint presentations and online participants. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
