March a 'huge' month for house sales in Bay

Bayleys Real Estate chief executive Ross Stanway

The number of homes sold in Tauranga was up nearly 45 per cent year-on-year last month as sales in the wider region hit a five-year high.

House sales in Tauranga increased to 184 in March this year, up from only 127 in March 2014.

Sales were positive on both sides of the bridge with the volume of sales up 26.7 per cent to 128 in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa from 101 the same time last year.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) yesterday released the regional analysis for March 2015 with 1360 house sales across Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Taupo, being the most for any month in the past five years.

Eves and Bayleys Real Estate chief executive Ross Stanway said last month was a "huge" month, across the board.

Every year, March seemed to be a busy real estate month and this year was no different with the impressive volume increases reflecting Eves and Bayleys agents' experience of the market, he said.

The larger increase in Tauranga may have been a reflection of new subdivisions adding brand new houses to the market, Mr Stanway said.

Tauranga Harcourts general manager Nigel Martin said sales across both markets were the strongest in years.

You had to act quite quick, you sort of have to jump at opportunities as they arrive. If a home is semi-decent it's moving quite fast.

Greg Anderson

"That is an impressive increase of volume and it's happened on both sides of the bridge. It reflects the confidence in the market."

April was shaping up to be a similarly good month based on the first half of the month, Mr Martin said.

Ray White Papamoa and Mount Maunganui owner Greg Purcell said it was positive news as a steady volume of sales was healthy for the market.

The volume of sales in Auckland was very high and he hoped that trend would continue in Tauranga.

REINZ regional director Philip Searle said the market across the region remained buoyant with increases in interest from buyers across the price spectrum, although good value for money was still a key consideration.

First-home buyer Greg Anderson said it took him five months to find their three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Mount Maunganui.

"You had to act quite quick, you sort of have to jump at opportunities as they arrive," Mr Anderson said. "If a home is semi-decent it's moving quite fast."

Mr Anderson said he was quick to give up on looking at open homes because of the competition that came with it. "You're looking through a house with 30 other people and you're trying to look with everyone there and it's almost like you're rushed to get through it.

"We did a lot of research ourselves and we had a criteria of what we were looking for. Obviously we weren't going to get the perfect house straight off the bat, but we were realistic with what was out there." he said.