Action on the Home Front

Home buyers - including expats with an eye for a bargain - have returned to the market in strength, hunting both high end and investment property.

International traffic to Trade Me Property surged 21 per cent last month. Brendon Skipper, head of Trade Me Property, says expats are "looking for a job, looking for a car and looking for a property" on the site.

Megan Jaffe, owner of the Ray White franchise in Auckland's swanky Remuera, says with expats buying, sales have picked up on top-end houses.

Ray White's March sales figures rebounded strongly, soaring 44.1 per cent. Chief executive Carey Smith says the hottest spots are Northland, Auckland, and the upper South Island; especially Christchurch, where investor activity is humming in the under $300,000 segment.

Babette Newman, Bayleys' Wellington residential manager, says there's a "huge increase" in attendees at open homes and multiple offers being made on properties in the capital too - particularly those over $800,000.

To read the full NZ Herald article click here

Posted: 12 Apr 2009

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