Life has become more complicated over the past few years, I hear people say this all the time. But what is it that has made life some much busier and complicated? I am not entirely sure of all the elements that have made us busy but I can point to one as a good example of why we are busier than ever and our lives are so much more complicated. That example is the new changes to the Work Health and Safety Act. The changes rolled out on April 1st this year and obviously they are designed to make workplaces safer, stop injury and death at work and generally make us safer. I understand the need for safety in the workplace, we are big on it but I am not sure a great deal of thought has gone into the impact such changes in legislation have on low risk businesses such as ours. By impact I mean energy, time and resources focussed on creating, implementing, training and rolling out of the changes. This has been a mammoth task for us as a business and has cost many thousands of dollars and many hours of work. Most people would scoff at us spending so much time and money on the changes to the act but as a responsible corporate we have a duty to our staff and clients to ensure we have done what is required. Personally I think we have gone beyond what is necessary which we are comfortable with. The outcome is a raft of new forms, more time spent filling forms and generally more complexity in our lives – making us busier. We are proud of what we have achieved with our new Health and Safety Procedures, but add to this the concern recently about Methamphetamine use in homes, new smoke alarm requirements and the looming need for adequate insulation in rental properties, not to mention the extremely complex process of selling a house these days and it is no wonder we are busier than we ever have been. I can’t see this changing a great deal when there are industries set up around legislative changes and jobs created. What I do see is increased costs in living and business that at some point will have to be on charged to clients. When I think about it I think we chose where we live and what we do so we must take these sort changes in our stride – as long as the kids are healthy and happy does it really matter? ... And with it comes those cold nights and lovely clear skies. People traditionally see winter as a time for the real estate market to slow but in recent years this has not been the case. In fact winter months for Twiss Keir tend to be slightly better than the summer months. A lot of this can be put down to the time taken to holiday over December and January impacting activity but generally it is because those looking to brave the cold are genuine buyers with a desire to find the right house. What we do see is a shortage of good listings around winter. Most owners are concerned that their house is not at its best during winter and assume it would be best to market in spring when the sun is out and the flowers are blossoming. This may be the case for a few select properties but on the whole this is an old wives tale. The facts are this ... yes there are more houses listed for sale in spring, yes there are less listings in winter and no the number of buyers does not diminish in winter. Today this is even more evident with banks giving away money at historically low interest rates, buyers have never had it so good when it comes to borrowing. Add to this wage increases and low inflation along with strong property growth over the past four years and buyers are perfectly placed to be buying. We are in need of property across all our markets, we are seeing properties that have been on our books for some time being sold at asking price. We are now seeing more multiple offers on properties and we are seeing strong visitor numbers through well marketed properties. All of these factors suggest those willing to invest in the marketing of their properties will stand out from the crowd and command the best price in the market. To stand out you need to use a number of key marketing tools. Firstly you need to maximise your internet presence by opting for feature listings on trademe and realestate.co.nz – these are extremely good value given the number of people now searching for property online. If you add to this Harcourts.co.nz then you have the most effective online presence available as Harcourts is the largest real estate company website in NZ. Essentially you will be number one online. You need to present your home well, if your property is vacant you need to dress your home using a styling company, sales people can assist with these contacts. You must then get professional photography taken by a property expert again our salespeople have the required details. In terms of print media you must be in the Press/Northern Outlook and Bluebook. Harcourts rates in the Press/Northern Outlook are unrivaled for their value and obviously the Bluebook is the only company owned magazine of its type in the market place today. Finally you should invest in an auctioneer and have your property sold by a master negotiator to unconditional buyers rather than opting for a marketing option that will find conditional buyers. Our auctioneers are the best in the country with Phil McGoldrick being both the NZ and Australasian Auction champion over the years there is no one better you could choose. If you want to make the most of this positive and strong market you need to be talking with one of our expert team. At Harcourts we train our consultants to be the best in the market place and I have no doubt they are. So if you are thinking of selling your home please do give one of them a call and ask them about how to auction your property. |
James Twiss
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Greg Roberts
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Archives
September 2020
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