While listings in the city are low even after accounting for the winter doldrums, surrounding areas are picking up the slack with activity spurred on by lower prices, lifestyle options and roading upgrades that are set to further improve prospects for commuting.
Rising alongside these markets is a Harcourts franchise that has grown from its Rangiora roots to double in size over the past three years. Now, Harcourts Four Seasons is adding an eighth office, in Lincoln, and from this month will have 100 salespeople in a sweeping territory that runs from Hanmer Springs to Rakaia. The company was set up as Twiss-Keir Realty in the mid-1980s but earlier this year moved to new branding with the takeover of the Harcourts Four Seasons offices in Hornby and Rolleston. Co-owner James Twiss says about 40 per cent of business is still in Christchurch, where they have three branches, but the energy and growth prospects of the market are a step beyond the urban fringe. The area around Woodend is looking like “the next Rolleston” and it will be interesting to see if the local council supports industrial expansion alongside subdivisions Ravenswood and Pegasus, he says. Lincoln is also seeing strong growth and last month’s announcement Canterbury and Lincoln universities might merge is the latest sign of closer economic ties between the city and satellite town. However, it’s the new motorway networks that is underpinning much of the residential expansion at the moment, Twiss says. “We noticed it almost straight away when we joined with Hornby and Rolleston from Rangiora. There was a really strong crossover of buyers who were looking both north and south of the city.” The realisation buyers were after a lifestyle more than a particular location was like discovering a new market, Twiss says, one where traditional notions of distance were being collapsed by highways like the Western Corridor, which skirts the city from Belfast to Hornby. Further motorway upgrades are on the way for Rolleston and the north of the city, which will see a third major passageway open with the Cranford St bypass. Twiss says Rolleston is further along the growth path, leaving some of the best capital gains potentially in the area north of Kaiapoi. Harcourts Four Seasons is well-positioned for an overview of the market, being the only real estate firm covering all areas around the city. Its model of close internal networking, wherein any sales agent can show and sell any home listed with the group, also works to its advantage in the geographically diverse yet connected market. “People who list with us get huge exposure,” Twiss says. “We’re now really looking forward to bringing some more competition to the Lincoln market.” Six salespeople will initially be based at the Lincoln branch, including some who have always lived in the town but until now have worked from other offices. “We’ve got a big brand with a proven record, and now we’ve got the whole Canterbury-Christchurch area covered. We’re the only ones doing that,” Twiss says. Call the Harcourts Four Seasons Team on 0800 789 1011 or visit harcourtsfourseasons.co.nz. Leave a Reply. |
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
|