New Build team to support building boom

TEAM BUILDING: Bayleys' new-build team, including sales and administration staff, are (back from left) Richard Pearce, Jacob Geuze, Ollie Suttor, Tiff Suttor, Scott Hannah, Roxane Hutana, Taan Suwanduang and Jenny Murray; (front from left) Geraldine Seaton, Aiden Holland, Dianne Holland, Nikki McHugh, Justin Kohere and Sabrina Haddad. Picture by Paul Rickard

A Gisborne realtor is upping staffing skill levels to help keep up with demand for new houses here.

Data from Stats NZ show 183 houses were consented here in the 12 months ending March 2022 — the highest number recorded this century and a 67.9 percent hike from the same period a year ago.

New house consents here have now hit the 100 mark in consecutive years.

Gisborne's percentage increase was far above any other region, with Wellington (up 26.3 percent) and Auckland (22 percent) the next fastest growing for new-house consents.

The region's building boom also coincides with changes to the Resource Management Amendment Act, and has led to the move by Bayleys to create a “New Build team” dedicated to marketing and selling development sites and new-build properties “off-the-plan”.

“The entire team will be trained as specialists in off-plan sales — quite a niche space,” Bayleys Gisborne director Simon Bousfield said.

“The team is currently in training and will continue with regular training to educate the team on the evolving landscape in the development space, keeping up with trends and opportunities for clients and customers.

“The training will be for the entire sales team but primarily will sit with residential agents.

“We will be backed up by the specialist team from Auckland that has been created to focus on achieving sell-down in the new-build space. Nationally we will have access to databases to provide greater reach and success in the new-build space.

“There are major benefits with new builds for national investors, which we can target to deliver a premium across these properties.

“There have been over 48,000 resource consents signed off since the end of February nationally, that will be online over the six to 12 to 18 months.”

After changes, finance legislation was now also in favour of buying new-build housing, he said.

An established projects team out of Auckland had been working for a number of years in the development area, providing training and expertise.

Suzie Wigglesworth, Bayleys national director of residential projects and general manager for Auckland Central, said a series of incentives for new-build properties had spurred rapid growth in the sector, which “continues to yield new opportunities” for homeowners as a result of the Resource Management Amendment Bill and changes to tax legislation.

“Some 100,000 new homes — including apartments and town houses — are expected to be sold off-the-plans in the next five years, with our new team born from the growing demand for salespeople and support specifically focused on this evolving market segment,” Wigglesworth said.

Landowners, sellers and residential developers nationally would have access to a team of highly-trained experts who could communicate development opportunities with knowledge of the dynamic marketplace, financial considerations and feasibility.

“While Kiwis are more understanding and amenable to buying off-the-plan, purchasers still need to enter agreements with their eyes open — so we will also provide valuable services for buyers in the new-build space,” Wigglesworth adds.

“Sweeping recent changes — including the exemption of the removal of interest deductibility against rental income on new builds, and the exemption for new builds from the 10 year bright-line test, along with financial legislation which has also changed in favour of buying — means Kiwis are constantly seeking guidance in this space.”

The Government's initiative to focus investor interest on the new-build market was having the desired effect, with property investors increasingly moving away from existing housing supply in favour of new developments.

Under central government guidance, any residential developments with the opportunity for three dwellings or more were considered in this context as a new build, and would be managed by Bayleys' new specialist team.