Realty Services expands business

House sales in Tauranga remain sluggish but one real estate company is in an expansiory mood.
Realty Services Group, the third biggest privately owned real estate firm in the country, has bought Professionals Papamoa Realty at Fashion Island, and is opening a new office in Greerton on June 1.
Both offices will carry the Eves brand and experienced Papamoa Realty operator Doug Morris will stay on as a salesman.
Realty Services, which also has the Bayleys franchise in the Bay, Waikato and Taranaki, bought the Papamoa business for its rental housing stock of about 160.
Eves Realty has now amalgamated its property management business on the coastal strip, closing its Midway office on the corner of Maunganui Rd and Nikau Crescent and moving its staff into Fashion Island.
Eves is now managing 2000 houses in Tauranga and Rotorua and is running a property management team of 18.
"This is a good market for opportunities if you are in a position to take advantage," said Realty Services managing director, Richard Cashmore. "Real estate is a cyclical business and you have to make it as bullet proof as you can. The property management gives us continuity of income."
Eves is relocating its Greerton office further up Cameron Rd to a higher profile site on the corner of Chadwick Rd and will be increasing its sales team from 12 to 14. .
 Eves will finish up with 10 offices in Tauranga and Rotorua, and along with Bayleys have about 40 per cent of the residential market in Tauranga.
Mr Cashmore, who has been in the industry for 40 years, said the present market was fragile.
"It's so hard to read. One week the auction room is buzzing and the next week there's no one there. There is certainly no urgency in the market and people have been waiting for the Budget. Whether that's an excuse, we will wait and see."
There was no improvement in the number of sales for April. According to the latest New Zealand Real Estate Institute (REINZ) figures, sales reached 70 at Mount Maunganui and Papamoa in April, down from 76 a month earlier. The median selling price edged up to $412,500, from $411,000 in March.
For the rest of Tauranga city, sales totalled 97 in April, five less than in March, but the median was firm, rising to $370,000 from $360,000 in March.
But Realty Services was happy with its lot. Its Eves and Bayleys offices in three provinces got through $100 million worth of commission sales in the residential, commercial and rural sectors.
It was the best month for two years, and the 178 sales included 24 farms and lifestyle blocks.
Bayleys is marketing $350 million worth of dairy farms including Carter Holt Harvey's portfolio in the Taupo/Tokoroa region, and 12 of the 16 Crafar holdings now in receivership.
The 25 Carter Holt farms have been on the market since the end of last year, and the Crafar farms are being tendered, closing on June 23.
On the latest REINZ figures, president Peter McDonald said though residential property prices and number of sales were down in April, the market was holding steady.
He said house values were firming rather than appreciating and there's less volatility in the market. "The peaks and troughs of the past 18 months have settled and it's pleasing to see the market retaining its strength."
In April, 5207 homes were sold in the country, down on 6161 in March, and the median selling price settled at $356,000, down $4500. The median is  4.7 per cent above  April 2009.