Q: We are house hunting for a bargain. We think the market should have some in the current climate. We thought we had found one; it even had sea views, but there was a house planned for next door which would have built out the view. We were
lucky to find that out. Do you think this market has some bargains? Or are sellers reluctant to be realistic about prices?
A: Glenda Whitehead, Auckland manager of Quotable Value, replies: Market activity is patchy and, while we have seen the volume of properties sold over the winter period drop, we are yet to see solid trends of prices dropping. Our observation in Auckland is that the number of properties on the market is down and that, matched with a reduced number of buyers, has seen the market in relative equilibrium.
There is a greater degree of caution being exercised. We note an increased trend of people researching properties before putting in an offer and the urgency has gone. Some commentators say there are always bargains, you just have to look harder.
The market is relatively well-informed on pricing. Property and price information is easily available through websites, such as our own qv.co.nz. Therefore, unless a vendor's circumstances are forced, the vendor is uninformed or you are perhaps a savvy negotiator, there is no reason why a property would sell at a bargain.
In my experience, a number of supposed bargains come with thorns, such as you discovered with the property likely to have its views built out. Usually if a deal is too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
In my opinion, buying a property merely because it is a bargain is generally not a good investment principle. The right reasons to buy are for location, your needs from that property or the investment return it can provide from capital gain and/or rental returns.
