Home sales hit a high in June

Dave Cowie made the switch from Auckland to Rotorua. Photo / Ben Fraser

Rotorua's property market is experiencing the "Auckland factor", leading to record-breaking sales in June.

Property sales nearly doubled this June over last year, and real estate experts say sales numbers have not been this high in around seven years.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures show 104 properties sold in Rotorua last month, compared to 53 in the same month last year and 95 this May.

REINZ Rotorua district forum leader Ian McDowell, of McDowell Professionals, said the situation was positive and looked like it would continue.

"This is the fourth month this year where the sales of houses and sections have been over the 100 mark, and that hasn't happened for years really."

He said the increase was a result of more confidence in Rotorua and people moving to the area. A number of those people were coming from Auckland but others were coming from elsewhere in the country.

"House prices have got a lot to do with it but more and more people are discovering what a neat place Rotorua is to live, with mountain biking, the lakes and that sort of stuff, and its close proximity to everything."

Some who worked in Tauranga were starting to buy properties in Rotorua because they were much cheaper, he said.

The median sale price of the Rotorua properties was $276,000 - up on $230,000 at the same time the previous year. The median price in May was $240,000.

Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services, which operates Eves and Bayleys Real Estate, said the price increase suggested people buying more houses in higher price brackets.

"The Rotorua market, like others in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, is benefiting from the Auckland factor," he said.

"That increase has been a good mix of Aucklanders buying investments and some buying homes for themselves."

Mr McDowell said the number of houses for sale in the area had dropped, however. "It's turning towards a seller's market a little bit," he said.

Nationally, 7426 dwellings sold in New Zealand in June, according to REINZ. That was up 29.2 per cent on June 2014 and down 7 per cent on May. The median price of June sales was $450,000, up $23,000 on June 2014 and down $10,000 on May.

The joys of life without chaotic traffic

It took Dave Cowie a year to find the perfect house but the former Aucklander says he is now "living the dream".

Mr Cowie is one of the many Aucklanders that Rotorua real estate agents say are behind the surge in property sales.

The 69-year-old is relishing the move, riding his bike in the forest every day and enjoying the minimal traffic.

"My wife had a good job in Auckland but we were sick of it," he said of the city.

"I've been mountain biking for 35 years, so we decided we might as well come here. I used to work here in the 1960s, so I have a soft spot for Rotorua.

"I've ridden all over the world and it's unbelievable what we have here. It's fantastic."
He and his wife Glenda bought their Ngongotaha home in April.

"I researched pretty thoroughly. We knew what we were looking for. We wanted an old cottage and we found one in Ngongotaha. It's a 1928 cottage that was moved there, we're 200 metres back from the lake but it's just lovely.

"It gets the sun all day. It's like we're living the dream. It's so good to be out of the city, the traffic there is insane. We've got to go back this weekend and I'm not looking forward to it."