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Rawdon Christie: Real estate agent on house prices could be on track for a faster recovery · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: More news on housing. ASB's picking house prices to finally
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: hit their 2021 peak. This is in nominal terms only,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: but not until 2029. Prices are still 15% below that high.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: They're expecting to increase 3.5% next year. Rodan Christie, real
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: estate agent with us this morning. Rodan, good morning.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Hello, how are you doing, Ryan?
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Very well, thank you. Good to have you on the show.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: What's it like selling real estate at the moment, Rodan?
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: We've had quite a quiet August. There's no doubt about it.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: We saw a lot of old stock in August. September's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: been quite quiet, but there's a lot of activity, we think,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: around the corner. We're talking to a lot of clients
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: at the moment who are lining up and are making that.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Do we jump before the election? Do we wait until
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: after the election? Look, I appreciate the fact that prices
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: have been down a little bit. I reckon there's more
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: activity coming than the ASB report shows. I think we
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: could have quite a strong start to 2027, judging by
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the sheer numbers of people we're talking to at the moment.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: And that's partly because people have just accepted the fact
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: we're in a stable market. Not much is really changing.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: There's no point really waiting. So we may as well
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: move on. And bloody good news for first home buyers.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: It certainly is, especially at that end of the market.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: What about the other end of the market? I mean,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: what houses are selling? Do you have to be renovated?
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Do you have to look good? 100%.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, the houses which are selling quite easily
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: and for good money are very well presented. So if
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: you're thinking about it, do the work, do the hard work.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: People are trying to steal bargains out there. Buyers have
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: got a heap of choice. So if you really produce
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: a shiny product where people know they do not have
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: to spend any money once they've purchased, then you're likely
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: to get a good sale fairly quickly for a good price.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: But apart from the first-time buyers, we've seen quite a
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: lot of downsizers who've now decided, hey, and it's probably
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: true that prices are not going to move a great
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: deal next year. And so they're thinking, well, there's no
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: point hanging on with all the costs associated with larger homes.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: So we're going to downsize now and just bite the bullet.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: That side of the market is beginning to move a
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: great deal more. You've got other indications. I mean, building
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: consents in July were up 21% in the year before.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Stats New Zealand reported residential construction. The Q2 is up 10%
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: from last year. Those are all good signs that there's
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: a simmering in the market, which I think will see
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: a reasonable start to 2027. But it's going to be stable.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: There are no massive gains to be made. It is
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: going to be still. You know, I look at it
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: right now after three or four tough years and think,
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: if we're going to get back to 2021 by 2029,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: which is only now, what, a year and a half away, well,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: that's not a bad thing. I'd take that. That's what
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: we've been through.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Gordon Christie, real estate agent.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: to News Talk ZB from 5 a.m. weekdays or follow
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.