Fall in Hawke's Bay property listings good sellers

The Hawke's Bay property market is showing a groundswell of recovery, says Property Brokers Hawke's Bay manager Paul Whitaker.

While prices have not firmed, the fall in listings is leading to a seller's market, he said.

The property mantra of the three Ps had been especially true in June, he said.

"There is a good market for properties well priced, presented and promoted."

The NZ Property Report, from real estate website realestate.co.nz, lists the majority of regions experiencing double-digit falls in new listings on a year-on-year basis. The biggest falls were in the West Coast, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, Marlborough, Canterbury and Wairarapa. Nationally, the length of time for houses to sell fell to 41 weeks in June, close to the long term average of 40 weeks. Hawke's Bay's length of time to sell lengthened in June to 53 weeks, far from the Hawke's Bay long term average of 40 weeks.

Realestate.co.nz CEO Alistair Helm said because the length of time to sell in Auckland had fallen to 27 weeks, compared to a long term average of 34 weeks, it was a good sign for Hawke's Bay. "It tends to be the metropolitan areas that lead the trends," he said.

Mr Whitaker said while sales volumes in Hawke's Bay were low in June, his company was very pleased with itself, with 31 per cent of Napier and 35 per cent of Hastings sales by his company.