The "Donald Trump effect" is having an impact on lifestyle property demand in Hawke's Bay, with not enough stock to meet requirements, says a Hawke's Bay real estate agent.
Reacting to Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures released yesterday that showed a shortage of supply was consistent around the country, Colliers rural and agribusiness director Hadley Brown said that was also the case in Hawke's Bay, with plenty of inquiries for lifestyle blocks but little to offer at this stage.
"It's interesting to see how many inquiries we are getting from both the domestic and international markets, but Donald Trump has helped us out with that, with American inquiries up 300 per cent on the same time last year."
He did not divulge the numbers of people from the United States looking, but added that potential buyers were being private about their activities and were "not open to being told what they should be doing".
Tremain's agent Jenness Clark agreed there was a definite shortage of opportunities for people seeking a bit of land in Hawke's Bay that was close to town, with room to keep a pony and the other trappings of the traditional Kiwi lifestyle block.
In Central Hawke's Bay, Bayleys agent Andy Hunter said that while bigger properties were being listed, there were few lifestyle options.
"We have good buyers who are looking at anything around the $1 million mark.
"We are also fielding a lot of interest from South Islanders looking for farms that are high-end properties."
In the rural market, Mr Brown said activity was slow to kick off this year but listings were starting to come on the market together, with closing dates extended for the next month or so.
Although there had been limited listings in the Hastings and Napier areas, Central Hawke's Bay had good volumes, with about 20 farms on the market, he said.
These were mainly sheep, beef and cropping blocks, being sold by farmers who were looking at moving on to the next stage of their lives.
Central Hawke's Bay Bayleys agent Sam Twigg said they had been "flat out" in the rural property sector and had sold two properties in October.
One was a 114ha livestock farm on Plantation Road, Ongaonga, currently farmed as a dairy support unit but with the buyer intending to convert to "another species".
Another 175ha block on Takapau Road, near the Waipukurau golf course had been sold to a local farming identity who intended to keep it in sheep and beef.
In addition, three properties ranging from 60ha to 172ha had recently been sold in wider Waipukurau area, all attracting multiple tenders or offers, Mr Twigg said.
The REINZ data showed that across the country there had been 1760 farms sold in the year to October 2016, 1.7 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Over the three months ending October 2016, grazing properties accounted for 41 per cent of sales, horticulture 18 per cent, finishing properties 20 per cent, and arable properties 9 per cent.
Among lifestyle properties nationally, 9115 were sold in the year to October 2016, 17 per cent more than were sold in the year to October 2015.