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Home»Archives for real estate

real estate

SLOW START SEES SPRING BOUNCE!

22 October, 2019 by andrea

Auckland’s housing market is emerging from one of the quietest winters ever as a mood of optimism takes hold. Despite the gloomy picture painted by backward-looking real estate stats, more properties are becoming available and Spring is delivering a more positive vibe, especially for first home buyers, say the experts.

REINZ notes that in August Auckland prices dropped by 3.5% on the same time last year. The number of new listings decreased by 14% in August and the number of properties sold dropped by 41%.

However, REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell says the next two months already look encouraging.

 

“Although there have been a drop in sales, there have been a lot of requests for appraisals and the market is starting to pick up again.

Across Auckland, real estate agents have struggled with few listings. As temperatures slowly rise, the market has responded, bouncing back into life again.

In St Heliers, Barfoot’s Paul Neshausen says, it’s been hard with less activity.

“But we’re still getting good prices. We’re seeing an uplift as more properties come to the market. The weather has had a big impact. Over the weekend, it was particularly busy with good open home attendance because the weather was gorgeous. As we move further into Spring, that seems to be the flavour.”

Mike Robson of Harcourts Epsom/Eden says since the new policy restrictions – tougher LVRs, the Brightline Test and the Foreign Buyers Ban – the market has been flat for a couple of years as vendors have been reluctant to put their properties up for sale. It’s still not increasing to the level it was where prices rose 13% year on year for five years.

Robson adds that being an election year, the decision-making process is normally delayed while people await the outcomes.

“Our market is driven by school zones. So there’s always some level of buoyancy. It’s not dropping. It’s just flat. But Spring already has a positive vibe and I think we’ll see a lot of good family homes coming on board, especially when schools go back after October 14.”

He says it took a while for sellers to adjust their price expectations following the boom years. But they have now and they’re just getting on with things.

“They couldn’t get the same prices that they could achieve a year earlier. Vendors now realise it’s a bit tougher than it has been but they have to be realistic. If they’re still chasing those higher prices, they’ll just have to wait for another couple of years. That’s not possible for everyone.”

Robson says, good properties priced around the $3million mark are selling well in his area. He had one last week that sold pre-auction.

“Anything well-presented at that higher level, there’s a strong buyer pool. Buyers are more discerning at that range. And they probably feel more in control as they can pick and choose.”

Tony Vercauteren from Sotheby’s says, in the upmarket areas of St Mary’s Bay and Herne Bay where he sells, buyer interest is high. But there is a definite shortage of property at the top end.

“A lack of good quality stock is prevalent. There are a lot of rebuilds going up but good top end homes are a rarity. People are reluctant to bring their properties to market. They’ve been told by the media that things aren’t great out there. And buyers are reluctant to move on their price expectations.”

“But if homes are 10 out of 10 at the top end, there is significant interest and they will sell.”

Unsurprisingly with the banks easing their loan to value regulations and the lower interest rates, the big numbers are coming in at the lower end. It was apparent right through winter in Mt Eden and Epsom, says Robson. Around 70 to 80% of properties sold were units.

“Activity is strong around the $1m to $1.2 and $1.3million mark as banks are more accommodating.”

While anything over $4million is definitely taking longer, first home buyers are also a force in the Easter Bays, says Neshausen. “Townhouses, terraces and units priced around the $1million to mid $1 million are selling with relative ease.

“I’ve seen new developments happening in the area, about five of them, where they are selling off the plans at speed.”

It’s the same in Ponsonby says Vercauteren, where activity in the $1million to $2million price range has increased. But there’s still a lack of properties at the moment, he says.

His advice for sellers is definitely to bring pressure to the situation with an auction campaign. “From the buyers’ point of view, they’ll start realising now they’ve gone for some time where the bottom hasn’t falling out of the market. If they want to buy something, then they had better buy it now.”

Robson says, presentation is really important. “You can’t do anything about your aspect or a steep driveway, but presentation will get people through to help sell the property.”

Although interest rates are the best they’ve been, he notes it can still be tough for buyers as the banks are making them jump through the hoops.

“They’ve become really strict on non-consented work and anything not signed off. Same with the requirements on rentals. A lot of landlords have made good gains putting properties on the market and some aren’t up to spec. That’s created difficulties for some buyers to get loans.

“So, do your due diligence and be aware of what you’re buying. Get good support from a well-connected mortgage broker who has strings to his/her bow.”

As Christmas and New Year get closer, expect the market to step up as people start thinking about relocating for schools, downsizing, upsizing and so on.

Bindi Norwell says, over the next couple of months the market should remain constant and the normal seasonal growth in listings and sales should help provide more choice for buyers.

 

Filed Under: Bedrooms, Design Trends, Furniture Packages, Interior Design, Living Edge News, New Homes, Real Estate, Staging Blog Tagged With: Auckland, Barfoot & Thompson, home for sale, home staging, interior design, interior design trends, interiors, property, real estate, trends

Neutral need not be bland

14 May, 2019 by Living Edge

Living Edge Interiors had the pleasure of styling the interior of this stunning showhome by Masonry Design Solutions.  Achieving this look long term is easy by the availability of furniture packages by Living Edge.  Walk into your new home and marvel at the stunning interior that has been professionally styled and yours to enjoy.

This project was a particular delight to be involved with due to the excellent choice of  Resene colour palettes and the attractive design of the home.

Designed as a showhome for Masonry Design Solutions (MDS) to demonstrate the quality of their handiwork, this impressive property overlooks the North Shore Golf Course in Auckland’s Albany neighbourhood. But thanks to a carefully chosen Resene colour scheme, the house also shows how to use a versatile colour palette in a manner that’s anything but monotonous.

The design team’s colour selection reflects a subtle play on a black and white theme with the idea that, were someone to move in the very next day, the home’s style could easily suit just about any style of furnishings. This simple scheme was achieved with Resene Ironsand being the darker contrast and Resene White Pointer and Resene Stonehenge as the lighter base colours. The result is a striking interior that maintains a degree of paired back elegance – and, looking through the gorgeous photos, it likely comes as no surprise that it has since found a family to call it home.

Showcasing three large living areas, including an open plan family dining area with a bar and wine cellar and a cinema room styled as a formal lounge, the home features the same emphasis on indoor-outdoor flow that MDS homes are known renowned for. The expansive outdoor living area features a fireplace, outdoor kitchen, underfloor heating and ceiling heating for year-round entertaining overlooking the heated swimming pool.

“The open-plan living/kitchen/dining room is painted Resene Eighth Stonehenge with a panelled ceiling and trims in Resene Half White Pointer. If you like the look of the soft pinks in this scheme, try adding in accents or accessories in Resene Ethereal or Resene Shilo.”

The open plan modern kitchen connects with a full walk-in butler’s pantry. A study, guest bedroom with ensuite, powder room, laundry and large double garage complete the ground floor. The upper floor consists of an expansive main bedroom suite with full dressing room and ensuite with large freestanding bath and Juliet balcony overlooking the swimming pool. There are also two other luxury bedrooms, a family bathroom and large storage. The mature gardens and extensive landscaping give a sense of permanence and finish off this magnificent house.

“Painted timber paneling was painted with various strengths of Resene Ironsand, depending on the intensity the rooms required,” says Mark Wilson, Director of MDS. For instance, the design team wanted to achieve a less reflective and moody aesthetic in the media room, which led them to choose Resene Stonehenge on the walls and Resene Half Ironsand for the ceiling paneling.

“In the main bedroom, where we wanted a softer approach, the walls we went with Resene Eighth Stonehenge for the walls and the paneling was painted Resene Quarter Ironsand.

 

The master bedroom stuns with batten features on the wall, in Resene Quarter Ironsand, and ceiling, in Resene Half Ironsand. The rest of the walls in the room are painted Resene Eighth Stonehenge and the remainder of the ceiling and trims keep the space feeling light in Resene Half White Pointer.

The cinema room, styled as a formal living area, is painted Resene Stonehenge with a batten feature wall in Resene Half Ironsand. The trim on the left wall and the ceiling are both in Resene Half White Pointer. If you want to add in a soft on-trend yellow like the one in this space, try incorporating accents and some accessories in Resene Thumbs Up.

The cinema room, seen from a different angle, is painted Resene Stonehenge while the ceilings, barn door and trims are all finished in Resene Half White Pointer.

 

The walls of the second and third bedrooms are both painted Resene Half Stonehengeand feature trims and ceilings are painted in Resene Half White Pointer.

 

The walls of this hallway are in Resene Eighth Stonehenge and lead into the master bedroom and dressing room, which are also painted Resene Eighth Stonehenge. The trims, door and ceiling are all painted Resene Half White Pointer. To create a similar mood at home, try painting the legs of a wooden console table in Resene Noir and add accessories in a green-hued taupe like Resene Collins Wicket.

To see more of MDS’ work, visit their website.

Blog post credited to Habitat by Resene

Photos by Mike Hollman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Furniture Packages, Interior Design, New Homes, Real Estate, Styling Tagged With: Auckland, home staging, homes, homes for sale, interior design, Interior Designer, interior stylist, interiors, living Edge, Living Edge Interiors, new build, paint trends, property, real estate, Resene, showhome

Give your home the WOW factor

27 September, 2016 by Living Edge

GET READY FOR SALE

The busy real estate season has arrived and buyers are out in force. With warmer weather and a better chance of blue skies, it’s a great time to sell your home. But there is a lot more competition around at this time of the year. Which is why you need to make sure your home stands head and shoulders above the rest.

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-1-14-36-pm

 

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-1-22-48-pmIf your property doesn’t grab buyers from the first moment, then it is easily forgotten and therefore less saleable. The more demand you create from keen buyers who fall in love with your home, the higher the price you can achieve. Presentation is key.

The Living Edge sales team can help you put your buyer’s hat on, by walking through your home with you and pointing out things as if it were the first time you have seen it.

Living Edge designer Lucy Miles says, “With enhancement staging, we can advise on simple changes that can be made to freshen spaces or disguise faults.

“It can be as basic as a couple of artworks, some smart cushions and contemporary accessories that create a cohesive theme. But we can also take your home to the next level by totally transforming it with a complete fit-out of fresh furnishings for a whole new look.

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-1-18-57-pm

“Full staging involves completely removing the owner’s furniture to give a blank canvas ready to create almost any look or feel the owners want to portray, depending on the buyer group their agent wants to target in the marketing campaign.

“For example, a character villa style of home that is partly furnished may have a traditional look. But if we removed the existing pieces we could start over ensuring a stronger impact with a fresh new look specially tailored to a more focused audience for that particular area. This involves styling the home to create the x-factor. It could be a refined glamour look using antiques and metallic. It might be cool Scandi chic or perhaps an eclectic contemporary look that juxtaposes new and old.

“If the home was built in the 50, 60s, 70s or any specific time period, we could have some fun by dressing it up for a contemporary retro look. It depends on who we believe the potential buyers are likely to be.”

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-12-42-40-pm

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-12-42-47-pmThe aim is to choose one or two key pieces for each room to anchor the scheme. Then Living Edge stylists build up the layers, pulling together a well-coordinated look throughout every area of the home, from living areas, to bedrooms and bathrooms to highlight your home’s best features.

Bedrooms suddenly look more inviting with crisp linen, luscious throws, elegant bedside lamps and cushions. Likewise, in bathrooms – gorgeous mirrors, fresh towels, lightly scented soaps, flowers, aromatic candles – all lend a welcoming ambience to seduce potential buyers. By creating the ‘wow factor’ with unexpected surprises and buyers will register in a very positive way.

screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-1-02-26-pm

 

 

 

 

Living Edge also pays attention to outdoor spaces, helping to extend the living into your garden. Beautiful contemporary and traditional furniture creates a look that lends a seamless flow from interiors to exteriors. Thought goes into arranging the furniture to focus on a stunning view or detract a buyer’s gaze from the neighbour’s ugly shed.

“If we decide enhancement staging is all that is required, then we look at things like the scale of your furniture,” says Lucy. “Bulky items inhibit the traffic flow and make rooms feel smaller. You may need to lose an occasional chair to open up a room during open homes. If there are 40 people going through the space at one time, the traffic flow in your spacious living area suddenly seems very cramped. Those are things many homeowners often don’t consider.”

Just by rearranging items of furniture to bring as much natural light inside as possible can make a huge difference. “As we walk through your home, we take note of whether specific areas might look more appealing with the addition a table or floor lamp, so they feel lighter, warmer and more welcoming.”

 

The Living Edge team discuss all areas that need attention, indoors and out. This may involve advice on tackling your ‘to do list’, fixing leaky taps and squeaky doors, cleaning, painting, tidying, reorganising and decluttering.

If you’ve lived in your home for years, you may no longer notice if clutter has crept in. With our fresh eyes, we instantly see spaces more clearly and can advise on paring back so that you allow buyers to soak up the beautiful feeling of space your home offers. Our team can suggest what to take away and what to leave to ensure personal items don’t detract from a buyer’s ability to envisage themselves living in your home.

 

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Once our sales team has visited (with the sales agent) and we’ve identified who the buyers might be, we prepare a comprehensive plan for our interior specialists to work with. Then we decide which furnishings could be used to update and enhance your home through home staging.

When it comes to selling a home, preparation is key. It takes time and skill. But home staging through Living Edge makes getting your home ready for sale easy, especially for people who might live overseas. Everything is taken care of, right down to the finer details, so preparing your home for the market is neither stressful nor overwhelming.

We can get you on track to ensure you maximize the value of your home with a quick and easy sale and a great price at the end of the process. Call us now. 09 630 0066.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Interior Design, Real Estate, Staging Blog Tagged With: interior design, living Edge, real estate

Thinking of selling your home?

30 September, 2013 by Sharon

Here are 5 good reasons to put your property on the market today!

As the old saying goes, the best time to buy property was yesterday so congratulations on having a foot hold in the real estate market. There may be many reasons why you are considering selling your home.  Sometimes these reasons are out of your control, but if you can sell and buy in the same market then you can realize many advantages.

Here are the Top 5 Reasons Living Edge Interiors believe now may be a perfect time to put your house on the market.

 1) Housing Demand Is High

According to Statistics New Zealand the growth in new housing developments appears to be slowing – just at a time there’s huge concern about housing shortages, particularly in Auckland.

Any continued slowing in the rate of growth in housing developments could put further upward pressure on house prices.

The Reserve Bank’s already concerned about rising house prices and the impact that a ‘housing bubble’ could potentially have on the financial stability of our major banks.

The number of new houses approved in August, excluding apartments, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, according to Statistics New Zealand.

2) Supply Is Beginning to Increase

As interest rates rise it is not unexpected to potentially see more properties listed on the market as sellers begin to understand that current price levels may not be able to be maintained. Selling now while demand is high and before supply increases may garner you your best price.

3) Interest Rates could rise next year

Whilst interest rates are low, now could be the time to upgrade to a bigger home or property – just make sure you look at the interest rate movements and secure a term loan that you know is going to be affordable and suit you the best.

 According to Bernard Hickey from interest.co.nz “whilst RBNZ held the OCR, increases are forecast for interest rates. This would imply floating mortgage rates rise to around 7.5% by early 2016 and suggests interest rates would rise around 100 basis points by the end of 2014 as the next election approaches”.

The central bank warned again that house price and construction cost inflation could spill over into wider inflation pressures and it was likely to increase the OCR next year. Its forecasts for the 90 day bill rate suggest it has bought forward its first expected rate hike from the September quarter of 2014 to the June quarter.

 4) It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

Look at the reason you are thinking about selling and decide whether it is worth waiting. Is the possibility of a few extra dollars more important than being with family; more important than your health; more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should?

5) What is the value of my home?

Selling your home and knowing it’s true value before you buy another house is certainly advantageous! Ultimately your home is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. So putting it on the market and selling it before you buy another is certainly powerful!

You already know the answers to the questions we just asked. You have the power to take back control of your situation by putting the house on the market today. The time may have come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire. That is what is truly important.

So what are you waiting for. Call us today for a consultation on (09) 630 0066

 

Filed Under: Real Estate Tagged With: home staging, homes for sale, real estate

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