Homes lingering long on list

Photo / Janna Dixon

Buyers for some properties need not always be in quick - some listings languish unwanted for 10 years.

House sales climbed more than a quarter last month compared with the same period last year. Listings remained low, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch. But even in this market, two units in Upper Queen St, Auckland, have been listed with Barfoot and Thompson for more than nine years. In that time the asking price of $448,000 hasn't changed.

Agent Duncan Wu said the owner built the properties and was happy to wait: "They are two-bedroom units and rented for a good return so the vendor is not worried."

Apartments in Queenstown, such as one in The Glebe, have been on the market for eight years and agents blamed the downturn in the economy.

"People who bought in the peak of the market now need to get more money out of a property than the market is willing to pay," Stephen Hebbend of Hoamz said.

"We are in the process of contacting all the vendors and asking them to look at the asking price."

Properties in areas prone to flooding or with steep land were also difficult to sell - especially as more appealing homes came on the market.

Dianne Wynyard of Century 21 in Russell said: "Some properties are taking four to five years to sell, especially those in the $1 million-plus bracket."

Peter Thompson of Barfoot and Thompson said in general houses longest on the market were those where owners hadn't adjusted the prices.

Leak-prone houses were also hard to move, especially if the seller had not adjusted to account for costly repairs that were needed.