# Auckland Housing Market- Not good news



## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

Often the question is raised about what to expect in Auckland regards renting or buying.

Just this week in Auckland we reached a population of 1,500,000 & it is expected we will reach 2 million in the coming years.

Then there is the fact that the rentals available has shrunk because 

1) The Government has removed the Tax Breaks landlords once enjoyed.

2) Rising interest rates & poor returns on investment property in the past until recently has seen a glut of rental property sold off.

3) The majority of people moving within New Zealand or arriving into New Zealand choose Auckland because that is where the bulk of employment is.

This week the newspapers have reported daily testifying the dire rental situation. 

Some prospective tenants are submitting CV's with photographs & references prior to viewing a property in the hope that their application will present more professional & they will be selected.
There are as many as 40 applicants for any single property in certain areas mostly Auckland Central (which includes a number of suburbs with good transport links, schools & desirable locations as opposed to suburbs that are less desirable)

House sales are also booming with fewer properties coming onto the market. I get several written offers to sell my home from real estate agents each week, some of these requests contain small gifts of tea bags, chocolate, note pads & pens & even flower seeds.

2 houses in my street sold in less than a month, one had sold in September 2011 for $700,000 & resold yesterday for $995,000 & it only had a single garage! It had undergone a makeover lasting 2 months (replacing new kitchen, 2 bathrooms, landscaping, paint & carpets which I estimate to have cost $80,000) 

My girlfriend sold her townhouse for $950,000 in less than 3 weeks & had 2 pre auction offers.

It may be different in other areas, I can only comment on the areas I know.

This is one of the articles from the newspaper this week.



> Estate agents are placing signs in shop windows for "properties wanted immediately" amid a housing shortage that has slid to the lowest inventory of homes available for sale in four years.


the article continues here

Housing shortage plight hits 4-year high - Property - NZ Herald News

Another story confirms the following


> Barfoot and Thompson, Auckland's largest residential realtor with 40 per cent of the market, reported its strongest January month in four years and said it expected gradual and modest increases in house prices over the first quarter of 2012.


you can read the full story here

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10783158


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