Friday, the REINZ (Real Estate Institute of NZ) released the official figures for home sales for the month of Feb 2010.
They commented;
The national median for days to sell in February was 46, up three on the January figure, but still 16 fewer days than the corresponding period a year ago. Sales were quickest in Wellington and Southland at 32 median days.
In light of that though, tis interesting to note that from a Nelson Council zone house perspective, our 2 bedroom sales for the Feb month saw a days to sell of just 29 days, while the 18 x 4 bedroom homes sold in a median time of just 24 days.
(CLICK ON ABOVE for larger version)
That certainly reflects what we have been seeing on the ground, however in so saying that was contrasted by the median of 64 days for 3 bedroom homes. In calculating the median though, its more a reflection of the fact that some February sales were older “on market” properties that weren’t “in the market” until last month.
In their report on Nelson Council zone homes, the Institute said officially;
74 houses sold in Nelson City in February (January 2010: 61; February 2009: 86). The median price increased to $352,250 (January 2010: $315,000; February 2009: $320,000).
The median price for a Nelson Council zone house was up at $358,750 in February (January 2010: $342,000; February 2009: $330,000). 140 houses sold (January 2010: 111; February 2009: 160).
Sections tapered off, with only 4 changing hands in Feb 2010. Their median price was a quite low figure of $130,000, whilst the median size was 997m2.
Again like last month, NZ’s national sales trends don’t really offer any real pointers to predicting which direction our local market is moving, certainly not in a decisive way.
If anything it’s more of a “leveling out situation.”
Also like last month, and still illustrating our predominantly family market, 37 x 3 bedroom homes sold, taking a share of 50% of the homes sold for the month.
And its good to see so much green return again, especially after last months chart, which the REINZ hinted at in their opening statement of the latest Home Sales report;
Total residential dwelling sales recovered last month from their lowest level in nearly two decades, but the national median price has remained steady at $350,000
Its also a point to note that Nelsons median (Feb2010 $358,750) does track quite close to the national New Zealand figure.
Tonight’s Weekend edition of the Nelson Mail has the craft and its operator Craig on the frontpage.
You might be familiar with Model Remote Controlled helicopters, but I bet your one, unlike Craigs Skylark & Falco, doesn’t come with;
11 on-board sensors, three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnetometers, a barometric pressure sensor and a inbuilt GPS unit capable of holding the unit in a designated hover
Bit of a mouthful that lot but I really do believe this is the way of the future for real estate photography.
And as I had hinted its not a cheap exercise, the paper quotes Mr Craig Dickie;
It costs about $50,000 to purchase and fully kit out a UAV, but Mr Dickie said that was the price of innovation.
Its not just great for the different amount of angles/heights (CAA restrictions limit it to 120m but it can go higher) that the unit can get to & provide, but more importantly in the future as bandwidth on the internet gets better this will be the type of unit required to generate compelling Real Estate video……..
and HD video (might need to double click above Youtube video and select 720HD on the menu-line at bottom of frame) / videotours like this stunning example above from the States -- but imagine it with heaps more/higher aerial shots / flybys. (thanks Larry @ PFRE for the heads-up on this fab production -- full article here at Scott Hargis’s site. This video was actually completed by a Canon 5D MK II DSLR!)
Maybe that’s why as the article in tonight’s paper notes, Aerial Imaging have a “major car magazine” already signed up and a demo with the Nelson police next week.
You can contact Craig by clicking the link to Aerial Imaging above.
Considering a scouting trip to Nelson for Real Estate – make sure you book one of these Sunset Cruises in advance to truly appreciate what we have here. (Summer Months for the Sunset Cruise obviously)
Out celebrating an anniversary on a fantastic harbour cruise last night in Nelson, out through the Haven and out into Tasman Bay, and the weather held………..
……but as we leaving the inner Haven …….came across this interesting sight…..
She, actually she is Drumbeat….(ex Salperton) at the time she was built by Alloy Yachts back in the early 2000s one the biggest NZ had ever made….
PHOTO CREDIT – http://www.salpertonyacht.com
was hidden around the corner in a back berth at Port Nelson.
Turns out she was in NZ for some regular maintenance and while here also competed in the New Zealand Marine Cup: Kiwi Kawau Challenge, coming third.
As we came back about 2.5hrs later I asked our boats Captain about the two flashing red lights on top of the masts.
Turns out that because they are so high, way over 100ft in old terms, they need them for aircraft navigation purposes/warnings.
Kiwis really are spoilt when it comes to indulging in seaside and on-sea experiences. One of the staff members on board Yonder Star last night commented that they used to live in England and that the life they have here in Nelson now is like living a dream. New Zealands isolation and low population density sure assist with that.
And being down in the Southern Ocean sure gives us the raw material / power required from nature that sees a Kiwi sailors experience, so highly regarded around the world.
Wikipedia have the 53m Drumbeat at number 24 on this list.
Sub-Heading: “Don ‘t show / tell them too much” that way they’ll have to phone
Got into quite a discussion with another agent re the age old debate that crops up when you talk about listings & # of photos on the internet.
Things like;
-> Only show a few photos, or even one like the $2.5m home above? so a buyer has to phone
-> Don’t publish the address, so a buyer has to phone
-> Don’t tell them the price, so a buyer has to phone
-> Use weird terms like Deadline Sale, because the general public usually don’t know what you mean, & they will call, etc, etc
This outdated mode of operation seems to be more about teasing potential buyers and they will phone, well come – maybe like in the Field of Dreams.
However I advanced that just like the Field of Dreams, Acre of Diamond, call it what you will, ………..that once you have it built, in todays crowded marketplace, you have to shout from the treetops and direct everyone to somewhere from whence they can view, at least initially, at their own time and place.
Following on from proven overseas experience it certainly seems that the richer any visually exciting photo experience is, home shoppers will be encouraged to view more details.
Crickey according to this March 2010 post on Larry’s blog, the listing agent stated this photo sold his San Clemente listing in 30 minutes, and in interesting circumstances because the buyer had already visited the property prior to seeing the photo!
In the mix it helps not to forget that your intended buyer is many times one half of a couple, and it definitely takes 2 to tango when it comes to buying a house. One buyer may be analytically inclined, whilst their partner may make most of their decisions based on initial visual inclinations. Visual always wins usually.
How can you possibly hope to excite both partners if you have only shown a couple of photos that “you thought” showed the home in its best light.
Worse still, what options are available to you to possibly refresh a listing that’s had little buyer enquiry for a couple weeks?
Take for example the new lifestyle property listing here, it has 20 photos on realestate.co.nz and also as you can see here, another 36 odd at Open2view – all up 56 photos.
Only built in 2008, on 19.9ha, its in a lifestyle rural location, so it needs to assist folk to find it, view it, and then decide. Crucial when you’re not just around the corner.
Eagle eyed readers will note a point of difference in the Open2view photos is the inclusion of a floorplan.
At this stage the representation on realestate.co.nz just depicts that, the actual floorplan.
However if you log onto Open2view and then have a look at the floorplan here, you’ll notice a substantial difference.
Not only the locations inside and outside from where each photo was taken and the corresponding image, but also the position from where the Quicktime Virtual 360° Tours were taken – and by clicking on those icons you’ll be taken to each correspondingly relevant tour.
Tell me that this sort of visually impressive info wouldn’t be compelling to a buyer from out of town or overseas, or a UK returning ex-pat who wants to live in another part of NZ.
Quite frankly a very likely scenario for our region, as we constant get buyers locally who originally grew up in areas further south. In many cases, the big OE “drifted” into a prolonged period outside NZ (remember my earlier stats on this) however ultimately they come back. And in just as many cases because they always dreamed of wanting to live/bring up a family in the Nelson / Marlborough, “the Top of the South” they show interest in that, certainly from an initial online property search perspective.
Now the old timer though this floorplan thingie actually wasn’t a bad idea after all!
Makes you wonder where in their own mind “do they draw the line?” between this new media and what used to be the priority just 10 short years ago.
And what point is there if your potential buyer is in London, or Dubai viewing the property online at a time when you are probably asleep & your mobile turned off.
You mo as well place a banner on the add that says “Overseas Buyers – Email only.”
So at the end of the day we begged to differ in our own opinions…..and it was a river I couldn’t bridge.
New Zealands Department of Internal Affairs has over the weekend placed public notice advertisements in NZ metropolitan dailies to alert recent immigrants to this significant update. (below is from The Press)
From 21 April 2010 the requirements for obtaining a New Zealand citizenship by grant will change, essentially where as you had only to wait three years before applying, after April 21 you will then have to wait 5 years.
If you are an affected person then you have to lodge your application before April 21, otherwise you will miss out.
Here’s the words straight from the relevant page on the Departments website……….;
At the moment, if you received permanent residence or had a successful application accepted by Immigration New Zealand before 21 April 2005, you could be eligible for a grant of citizenship after living in New Zealand for three years.
If you applied for and received permanent residence on or after 21 April 2005, you have to be resident in New Zealand for five years before becoming eligible for a grant of citizenship.
However, from 21 April 2010, everyone will have to be resident for five years before becoming eligible for a grant of citizenship, no matter when they applied for and obtained permanent residence.
That means that if you meet the three-year requirement and don’t lodge an application before 21 April 2010, you will not be eligible until you have lived in New Zealand for five years, not three years.
Also as a handy helper to ascertain whether you are eligible for citizenship, the department offer their Citizenship Online Calculation Tool.
Local residents discover after residing locally for a period that they indeed take a more personal interest in the area, and no where is that more apparent that in wanting to recognise our surroundings. In Nelsons particular our case, that means a lot of hills and mountains.
After all the region is world renown for its 3 main National Parks, and many accessible peaks.
One of my colleagues at work has recently taken a local helicopter tour, well 6 folk all up it was, and one of the standouts for them was landing up on Mt Starveall.
Even the chopper pilot commented that he hadn’t experienced a better weather day to land up there than that.
While checking out some photography on Mt Starveall, like the example of the view above, I came across a website run by Markus Baumann, a local graphic designer and nature & landscape stock photographer. Markus it seems likes panoramas.
Mt Starveall is not on the range just behind Nelson in an easterly direction, its actually on the next mountain range over. That’s what helps to explains the elevation you can see in the above photo.
In fact that range thats directly behind Nelson, thats those hills with the dark green patches about centre of the above pic is the Barnicoat one.
CREDIT – Markus Baumann – Skylark.co.nz
Hmmm lets clear this up – the range directly behind Nelson (in an Easterly direction) is called the Barnicoat range and as another of his photos, above shows, it too is completely accessible as this mountain biker illustrates. He is looking out over Stoke/Tahunanui to Rabbit Island and onwards to Tasman Bay.
CREDIT – Markus Baumann – Skylark.co.nz (image size is 7200 x 585px)
So if you were curious about those peaks out there across the bay, here’s Markus detailed photo…..you’ll have to click the above photo to get it.
According to his site, www.skylark.co.nz, the mountain panorama’s viewing angle stretches roughly over 100°, from the Lookout Range in Kahurangi National Park all the way to Abel Tasman National Park, with Tasman Bay in the foreground.
Here is the another panorama taken from 1528m Mt Starveall showing and noting the other peaks up there. (you’ll need to click on it to see the full panoramic image)
Thanks again Markus for allowing me to show these photos here.
When the Nelson Mail published this photo in October 2007, many folk probably went “sigh”……….
…….and anyone that didn’t live here…..well it wouldn’t surprise me to believe they quite swiftly concluded it was a Photo-shopped image.
The reality was quite the opposite – in fact it was true, here we had someone locally following in the great tradition of Russian flying boats “Ekranoplan’s” ……..and doing it locally, and for a dollar budget, considerably short, seriously short, of those folks investment.
The above video comes from Youtube user nixontankgirl who commented -- I was sitting on my yacht anchored in Nelson, NZ one morning. In the far distance I was vaguely aware of some type of boat racing up and down. I could hear the engine scream…
I’ve posed the question before is there something in the water.
And even though you have most certainly heard that ubiquitous statement before……..
………..there are undeniable grounds for asking that question, and making that statement.
Less than 65kms from Stoke, Nelson is the “Guinness Book of World Records” qualified (and scientifically backed up) the fact that locally we have the clearest fresh water in the world, yes the whole planet. That other place in Antarctica doesn’t really count though.
As the below graphic illustrates, its currently the most popular “clickable auction” on NZ’s most popular auction site, Trademe.
Can’t help but mention here tonight another World First from NZ’s South Island, the Martin Jetpack, has recently secured some serious international funding, and is about to enter commercial production.
The good news according to some Radio Station Jocks on drive tonight was that at this stage, there is no law in New Zealand to ban you from texting while flying one of these apparatus’s.
Hmmm …..does NZ’s South Island – Middle Earth of NZ -- have any other aviation links?
PHOTO -- wikipedia.com
Well glad you asked, because the biggest one, and the subject of immense and intense debate is that we here, down under were actually the first in the world to fly…
PHOTO -- wikipedia.com
……….and near Temuka, just a dozen km’s from where I was born in fact.
A chap by the name of Richard Pearce achieved that feat back in 1903.
UPDATE -- 15th March 2010 unit has been sold for NZD$27,500 to a buyer from Christchurch -- story here.
I’ve been asked all month about the rising levels of inventory, its been commented on it many places this past month too, however from a Nelson perspective it was definitely not that noticeable on the ground.
And when I chart the individual Feb 2010 figures, the reason why becomes abundantly clear.
The numbers on the chart equal the “Number of Weeks of UnSold Housing Stock” that was on the market in February.
The Inventory metric will always be heavily influenced by the percentage of sales that takes place in that locality, but nevertheless it is good guidance.
And why is it important.
Well the volume of competition you have makes a huge difference in achieving or bettering asking prices.
Its that demand and supply equation I’ve talked about before.
Most sellers I’ve ever talked to want their own property to stand out from the rest.
To my way of thinking, that time to sell could be maximised when you have less competition, and not when you will have 4 homes in the neighbourhood of exactly the same age, similar style, size of section, etc.
Yet the other school of thought suggests that because their are more competitors on the market, then it brings out more buyers…..think the typical stereotype of the “spring market” here.
However I suggest that a close eye kept on inventory levels in your own region can’t but help in the long run.
So if you’re a Kiwi in Dubai, Manchester, New York or Singapore and are investigating what you career options are, if you were to return to New Zealand, then next to Real Estate, this is probably the 2nd most important site to go to for a basic “heads up.”
According to the Press Release;
The new website section, ‘Returning to New Zealand’, provides advice on things such as bringing home non-Kiwi partners and children and tips on dealing with “reverse culture shock”
Ms Kosmala, who is the deputy chief executive of Career Services, commented;
….in December last year, Kiwis returning home outnumbered Kiwis leaving for overseas, according to Statistics New Zealand.
On there you’ll find info like;
if you’re eligible for a benefit /pension when you get home
checklists to prepare before you return home – the documents you’ll need when you get back to New Zealand, as well as background information on the labour market
your career options in New Zealand – gives advice about networking, attending interviews and updating your CV into a NZ style…..and more.
Most are aware of Google Earth, a great program that allows an insight into just about any place on the planet.
In a recent post I mentioned to readers the release of another Google product called Building Maker. And I pondered on what applications it could relate too.
Well the good news is that the first city to get the 3D treatment publicly (you may need to load a Plug-in here) notified is Melbourne, Victoria.
This is what a normal Google Earth view of Melbourne, Australia looks like.
And this is what it looks like when you activate the 3D Buildings layer.
The models are not usually developed by Google personal -- its left up to the developer community, who get their name up in lights too. Example featured here is Melbournes famous MCG.
If anyone is unhappy with the representation of their building, they can apply to have it reviewed, and possibly changed.
Just out of curiosity I thought I’d better check out the New Zealand progress……(click for larger picture)
It would seem that folk have been busy in Auckland…..
Less folk seem to have been busy in Wellington converting their flat 2D buildings into 3D sketch-up models
Yet down in Christchurch it looks like they have been busier as there are quite a few models activated there.
Once this starts happening in your street, then it will get interesting.
If you’re curious about having your own town feature on Google Earth, perhaps this short video may provide some inspiration.
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