Hacourts as part of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™, has our listings showing on http://RELOHomeSearch.com 

This should open up extra international exposure for our existing and future clients’ properties as a value add – all I can say is Brilliant!

As a Harcourts Levin Property Specialist I think this only enhances the opportunities to sell Levin Real estate on a truly global stage.

Levin Real Estate is seeing a surge in sales with 38 in May 2009 and June 2009’s 33 Residential Levin sales. The sales board at Harcourts Levin is looking busy – with written contracts, confirmed sales and new listings.

To receive the report automatically by email – go to http://masonparker.co.nz/levinpropertyreport.php and enter your name and email into the subscription box.
You’ll be asked to confirm you really do want to receive it (no kids giving out your details here) and then the Levin Property Report will be emailed to you – whatever the time of day.

And the great thing is – if you don’t want to receive the Levin Property Report anymore you can instantly unsubscribe – without any delays waiting for me to do it manually 

And of course if you want the National Overview -check out Alistair Helm’s NZ Property Report

You can also view other Levin statistics at Zoodle

If you’d like to see whats for sale in Levin right now SEE LEVIN PROPERTIES FOR SALE

It builds on the NZ Property Report and drills down further to local Levin Residential Property Statistics – enabling buyers, vendors and property enthusiasts to get specific Levin statistics without any hassles.

Issue One is out …Issue Two will be relased early in July 2009.

The report is FREE to download in PDF format and uses various third party data sources compiled in a format which is aimed at being easy to read, interpret and USE.

To receive email alerts telling you when the Report is available subscribe at
The Levin Property Report

Why do I say that Levin property is stablising?

1. Last month saw sales at 38 for residential Levin – a definite surge on the previous average sales levels of 20-25 per month and this is very encouraging
2. Bryan Thomson  (Harcoourts NZ CEO) has commented on his blog www.blog.harcourts.co.nz :”For the third month in a row Harcourts New Zealand statistics demonstrate a market with a reduced level of new listings coming to the market and a significantly higher number of written sales being recorded than the same month last year.

   The comparative increase in buyer demand and activity is particularly noticeable in those areas hardest hit by the slowdown we experienced last year, with an average increase in the volume of written sales in May 2009 of nearly 40% when compared to May 2008, including 43% lifts in Harcourts’ Northern and Christchurch regions and a 76% increase in Harcourts’ Central region.

   The marked improvement in the volume of written sales in May when compared with the same month the previous year follows the trend reported in March 2009 (30.4% increase on March 2008) and April 2009 (44% increase on April 2008).”

3. Tony Alexander (BNZ Economist) has indicated mortgage approvals are up which has to be a pre-cursor to more buyers cashed up ready to buy.

   “Mortgage Approvals Growing

    

   We have learnt nothing new with regard to the housing market this week, apart from Reserve Bank-gathered mortgage approval data showing a good lift in the most recent week. This indicates turnover remains good. The number of approvals in the past week was ahead 19% from a year ago after being 9% ahead in the previous week ending June 5.”

    

4. The number of written contracts in the Harcourts Levin Office is also ROBUST – with buyers committing to written offers – and a number of multi-offers being seen

Levin is still flush with property – still 400+ residential listings today on www.realestate.co.nz …still good deals out there with loads of options for investors and home-buyers alike.

There is no time like the present to consider buying property in Levin …stock levels are still high and it would be more than reasonable to expect families to remove “currently-for-sale” family homes from the market over winter as parents keep children inside over the cooler months. This may well remove some quality listings from the market and reduce buying options.

The recent higher levels of written contracts coupled with sales spike – it is reasonable to suggest buying options will reduce if stock levels decrease.

If you would like to see the full range Harcourts Levin property options try www.masonparker.co.nz  – before the best deals disappear.

“The first indications of real estate sales activity during May 2009 are beginning to appear and for Harcourts in New Zealand they are a continuation of the trend we have seen for the majority of 2009. Written sales numbers across the country for the month of May are looking to be 35% ahead of May 2009 with the standout location being the Central North Island where numbers are a significant 74% up on last year through to the South Island provincial areas where numbers are more in line with the previous year being 10% ahead.

These results are both a reflection of the sound market we are seeing currently and also the abysmal market that was in play during May 2008 in many locations.

As already reported by Alistair Helm on Unconditional blog new listing numbers remain low putting pressure on buyers to source their new property.

My advice for both sellers and buyers remains as it has always been, if selling, buyers are available, so market well and have realistic price expectations and you will succeed. Buyers, you need to make sure you are in a position to make decisions both rapidly and intelligently otherwise you will miss the best opportunities.”

Levin listing levels are still at strong levels with 422 listings online at http://www.realestate.co.nz/residential/all/levin - I’m still waiting for the fully confirmed sales figures for May 2009 …I’ll wait before confirming these.

We still have a HUGE amount of stock for sale – and among them are a good range of small investor suitable properties right through to substantial family homes. So what does this mean if you are selling now?

I might upset a few people here but there appears to be a gap between Levin vendor expectations and buyer purchasing power.

Mr/Mrs Vendor if your expectations are above what buyers can borrow (whether because of valuations or 20% deposits required for lending) then buyers simply cannot buy your property.

There is a lot of market commentary supporting falling levels of properties for sale and listing shortages …this is not what is happening in Levin. Are you following National Trends as reported by the media and missing the local trends?

If you feel you might have fallen into this trap – call Mason Parker Harcourts Levin Sales and Marketing Specialist for a free appraisal. We’ll openly discuss the Levin trends, National trends and how to effectively position your property to sell.

And watch out this week for the NEW “LEVIN PROPERTY REPORT “

An example is the article on www.stuff.co.nz – CLICK HERE

The property is being professionally marketed by Kylie Anderson from Hacourts Gore -  http://www.harcourts.co.nz/pcQSearch?qst=GO080805

Well after a bit of debate about the pro’s/cons of online auctions for property there’s been a positive development for the vendors – Alistair Helm has arranged a featured listing for this property on www.realestate.co.nz to help the vendors out.

You can see the impact on the Real Estate Listing here http://www.realestate.co.nz/861751/statistics or YOU can see the property profiled in the suburb serach  CLICK HERE 

Alistair this deserves a Thumbs Up in my book – good on you the vendors are obviously highly motivated to sell right now and absolutely appreciate the assistance you’ve given them. (I know this because I spoke to Kylie Anderson and the vendors)

I looked at the stats and prior to yesterday the highest traffic the listing had acheived was a high of 11 views on Monday 25 May – the vey next day traffic shot up to 278 viewings.

I spoke to the www.realestate.co.nz helpdesk today and they confirmed a two week featured listing is $250+GST – in my opinion this level of traffic in such a short time its a steal.

Such a dramatic change in traffic in one day is just awesome – I hope for the vendors and the Kylie Anderson that the increased exposure helps them secure the right buyer and finalise what must seem an elusive sale.

GOOD LUCK.

Harcourts International has won the Best Property Marketing Products award in the marketing contest of prestigious global real estate network Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®.

In addition Harcourts has also been placed in the top three in both brand and general marketing products categories in the contest, out of more than 700 eligible real estate companies across 39 countries. Winners were chosen based on creativity and overall presentation, and effectiveness in the marketplace. 

LeadingRE Vice President of Communications Robin LaSure says the contest showcases the finest marketing in the industry and is an opportunity for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® affiliates to share strategies for branding, advertising and company promotion.

“To be recognised for excellence among this distinguished group is an honour, and we commend Harcourts for its superior marketing efforts,” he says.

Harcourts International’s Head of Marketing and Communications, David Martin, accepting the award for Best Property Marketing Products from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Vice President of Marketing Paul Boomsma at the LeadingRE conference in Scotsdale, Arizona recently.

Harcourts International Head of Marketing and Communications David Martin, who accepted the Best Property Marketing Products award on behalf of Harcourts’ marketing team when he attended the LeadingRE conference in Arizona recently, says the contest results are outstanding recognition of Harcourts’ marketing products “and puts us amongst the top real estate brands internationally”.

“Placing first in the property marketing category reinforces Harcourts commitment to providing exceptional property promotion for our clients,” he says.

Harcourts, which is the largest real estate group in New Zealand, the fastest growing in Australia and has offices in China, Fiji, Indonesia, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia too, joined the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™ in 2003 as the exclusive South Pacific member, in order to provide international marketing exposure for Harcourts’ clients’ property.

Harcourts International’s Managing Director, Mike Green, is a LeadingRE board member and he also chairs the organisation’s International Advisory Board, which is comprised of non-U.S. members committed to expanding the value proposition of the company’s international membership programmes.

With more than 5500 offices and 170,000 sales associates in the United States and 35 countries abroad, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™ affiliates sell over US$400 billion in home sales representing more than 1.3 million transactions annually, outselling any international franchise and leading the world in the sales of $1 million-plus homes.

Time out of the office and the phone ringing less than normal gives time for reflection and time to read the papers, www.stuff.co.nz and google items of interest. I found an interesting article on the cost of Mortgage Holidays- see the image. or read the article

The story explains that while taking a “mortgage holiday” sounds great it adds a significant cost to the mortgage payments and total repayments. I believe we should rename “mortgage holidays” as a deferred payments because there is no holiday – the regular payments increase and thre total cost of the loan rise. The article goes on to say that “Mortgage Holidays” should be used as last resort – SOUND ADVICE.

In times of economic uncertainty I think its easy for us to think “we need a break” – I agree but maybe its a break from SKY – or gulp swallow – reduce the broadband plan or surgically remove the cellphone from your hand (unless its for life or death emergencies and not the calls inside a bar “where are you sitting?”)

A few years ago I worked in CBD Wellington and drank 3 coffees at the downstairs coffee house – consider this 3 coffees a day (@ $3.00 each), five days a week for 45 weeks a year (yes I’m trying to be conservative) is roughly $2,025.00 annually on coffee! And that’s without muffins – afghans or the inevitiable cafe lunches.

I stopped having coffees at the cafe -unless they were work related meetings and significant meetings with friends …I was surprised the difference it made to debt servicing.

Are there hidden monetary sinkholes like this in your regular patterns…finding these rather than taking mortgage holidays can save you much more in the long run.

Saying that sharing Easter treats with the kids and having hot cross buns with the adults – is worth investing in!

Happy Easter

Make sure you at least do these:

1. have a builder or building inspector look over a property for you (its a $400 to $600 insurance policy for you)
2. make sure your solicitor views and approves title before settlement (are there caveats or restrictions on title you need to know about)
3. go to the council yourself and ask to view the records yourself – although in Levin they have moved to a computer based system and not all information is readily available – you’ll learn a lot of information that solicitors and others may not think to tell you as they might not feel they are important and in Levin the council will encourage you to get a LIM
4. seriously consider a LIM (Land Information Memorandum) which tells you all the information the local council has on file (or as is often the case it tells you what information they DON’T HAVE – it seems very council in NZ haa had a fire or other event destroying past files and documents). In Levin a LIM takes 10 working days and costs $130.00
5. print and keep everything in one property file
6. ask you agent this question – “is there anything else I need to know about the property before I purchase it?” – Under the Real Estate Act we have a duty of care to disclose any and all information – for example not telling you that we knew a Code Of Compliance has not been issued for a newly property would breach thta duty of care.
7. make sure you check out school zoning rules
8. make sure you consult a mortgage broker to make sure you can afford the property (with a buffer for bad times, illnesses and unexpected event like recessions )
9. drive around the neighbourhood and get a feel for the properties around the home – see if you can see yourself living there

I made this post after reading about some people who had done major works to a home without consents – if buyer never went to council they could’ve bought themselves heartache and stress for years and “reading between the lines” an uninhabitable building.

READ MORE HERE

The crowd was conservetively 50 – with good bidding action on most properties.

Harcourts Levin have recently installed a large screen monitor to promote the properties’ benefits throughout the auction

See the action below.

Well Done to all the vendors who committed to high profile marketing, congratulations to all succesful vendors, Stu for calling 8 good auctions and for all the buyers who purchased property today.