Hi,
There were 622 auctions reported to the REIV over the weekend resulting in a clearance rate of 67%. 311 sold at auction, 104 sold before auction, 1 sold after auction and 206 passed in. There were an additional 188 private sales.
Last week was the final week of 2022 where auction campaigns would be released for the year (except for the occasional short campaign that may go online between now and Christmas). Surprisingly, the amount of new listings was very low in comparison to the last minute flurry of properties that come onto the market in a normal Spring market.
Agents who have listed properties for next year, are using the next four weeks to attempt to sell some of these off market and we are already seeing an increase in off market properties and activity in our office. Many vendors who have failed to sell their properties over the past few weeks will become increasingly motivated to sell by Christmas Day as many want to have the sale done and dusted before the holiday season. This is usually a great time of the year to buy and this year won’t be any different, albiet, the available stock on the market is lower than a normal Spring season.
This is the last market wrap for the year and this year certainly has been an interesting one to work in. The end of lockdowns, spread of Covid-19, rising interest rates, rising cost of living, floods, war in Ukraine and rising inflation all being thrown at us in 2022. Although I am sure 2023 will bring its own challenges, lets hope we see some relief from the challenges we experienced in 2022. Mostly, those trying to enter the property market and those with mortgages will be hoping for a stabilisation of interest rate rises which appears to be on the cards. If this happens, we could be in for a very active property market in 2023.
I hope you all have a very enjoyable holiday season, stay safe and Happy New Year.
Kim Easterbrook
