Duke & Cooke Property News
Property News from the Nelson Tasman Region

Published on: 22nd November 2008

MONEY RUNS OUT FOR RETIREMENT HOME
NELSON LAND PRICES SEEN DEFYING SLUMP
MOTOCROSS FANATIC PLANS $1M COMPLEX
OLD MARSDEN VALLEY HOUSE SHIFTED TO TAHUNANUI HILL
ACCESS TO SKATEPARK SEEN AS DANGER ZONE
PROPERTY WATCH

MONEY RUNS OUT FOR RETIREMENT HOME

The family of an elderly benefactor who has spent more than $1.6 million supporting a Wakefield rest home is offering to sell it for just $1. Jean Goldie, 87, has been the private supporter behind the 20-room Wakefield Village Rest Home since its inception in 1993 but she’s become ill and cannot afford to continue supporting it, said her son-in-law Philip Townsend. As a small operation, it had never been profitable. It had not been managed financially as well as it could have been and Mrs Goldie had continued to top it up as required, Mr Townsend said. The family had been looking at various options to avoid closure and would keep it going over the next three months while a solution was found. It is home to 19 residents and employs 21 part-time staff.

(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 18 November 2008)
Back to top

NELSON LAND PRICES SEEN DEFYING SLUMP

House prices have slumped but land prices are forecast to rise in Nelson. A report by economic consultants Infometrics shows that nationally, house sales volumes fell by a record amount in the first half of 2008. Property sales volumes slumped 44.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2007, exceeding the previous record decline of 39.4 per cent set in the second half of 1974. The data is in a report prepared for mortgage insurer QBE Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance. House prices in Nelson-Marlborough are forecast to fall 7.6 percent to June next year. However, the report says continuing pressure on land supply around Nelson could push prices up by 14.1 per cent over the two years to June 2011, following a decline over the coming year. Building consent numbers are forecast to fall 26.4 per cent over the year to next June, before a recovery in the region’s housing market drives a 24.9 per cent lift in activity by June 2010. Nelson was likely to enjoy an increase in building work in 2009/10 as the city’s economy and housing market performed more strongly than in Marlborough, the report said. Rental yields had reached a four-year high in Nelson, as demand for rental accommodation held firm despite the area’s slower population growth, it said.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 19 November 2008)
Back to top

MOTOCROSS FANATIC PLANS $1M COMPLEX

A British immigrant and motocross fan is spending $1 million of his own money to build an off-road motorcycle park near Murchison where bikers can ride without the noise annoying neighbours. Richard Collins has bought a 404-hectare farm in the Tutaki Valley to build the park, which will have two race tracks and a series of off-road trails. The park will also have clubrooms, a bar and a visitor accommodation block. The park would be open from 7am to 9pm from Monday to Sunday and was expected to be used by up to 100 riders a week. The park was 2.5km away from the nearest house and he didn’t think noise would be an issue. The site was largely surrounded by Department of Conservation land and forestry. The resource consent application says DOC does not object to the proposal. He did not think his park would conflict with a motorsport park planned near Kohatu, as that was largely for on-road motorsports. Submissions on the application close on Friday, December 12.

(The Nelson Mail, Thursday 20 November 2008)
Back to top

OLD MARSDEN VALLEY HOUSE SHIFTED TO TAHUNANUI HILL

A house once lived in by the Marsden Valley Cemetery sexton has been relocated to Tahunanui. The three bedroom house was sold to Nelson woman Leita McKellar by the Nelson City Council for $28,000. Ms McKellar had the house relocated to the corner of Tamaki St and Tosswill Rd on Wednesday night by house relocators Perriam Enterprises Ltd. Council property management officer Stewart Lawson did not know how old the house was, or when the last sexton left. The sexton was employed by the council to look after the grounds and help with burials. Mr Lawson said the council had decided to sell the house as a new subdivision nearby included a cycle way which would go straight past the front steps of the house.

(The Nelson Mail, Friday 21 November 2008)
Back to top

ACCESS TO SKATEPARK SEEN AS DANGER ZONE

A city councillor has suggested bending the rules in order to prevent what she fears is a lethal traffic accident looming near the Neale Park skatepark in Nelson. Council community projects manager Andrew Petheram said that soon after the skatepark opened, a small number of vehicles started accessing it off QE II Drive (State Highway 6) and driving across the swale (ditch) on New Zealand Transport Agency land near the railway line. Vehicles have also been reported speeding across the walkway and cycleway between the highway and skatepark. Councillor Gail Collingwood warned at Thursday’s community services committee meeting that a “big crash” on the highway next to the Neale Park skatepark might force roading authorities to take action.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 22 November 2008)
Back to top

PROPERTY WATCH

Munro Building grows up
A property syndicate that owns the Munro Building in Bridge St, Nelson is planning to add a fourth storey. The addition, which has been three years in the planning stages, will provide another 918sq m of office space. The building is currently tenanted with government agencies. Syndicate spokesman Lindsay Hay said it intended to get a tenant signed up before proceeding. “In this market, you’d be a pretty brave soul to go ahead and spend a couple of million without a guarantee of tenancy.” Colliers International has been marketing new space available for lease. Mr Hay said there had been a good response. “We’re quite positive within the next four or five weeks we’ll have it stitched up.” The redevelopment will also see the creation of another 35 car parking spaces, an exterior paint job and a new lift. “It will be like a brand new building when it’s finished.”
Sale well worth the wait
The Gingerbread House backpackers in Westbrook Tce, Nelson has sold for more than $120,000 over GV after being on the market with various agencies for more than a year. It fetched $408,000 being sold as a residential property through Ray White Richmond principal Brent Sturm and his colleague Brent Palmer. The GV is $285,000. “Needles to say, the vendors are extremely happy,” Mr Sturm said. Ray White had the listing for just over two months, with two previous offers presented during that time. Mr Sturm attributed the sale to effective communication and negotiation. “It’s a really hard market at present and there’s a lot of give and take involved to get many sales together.” Mr Palmer has also just sold a modern five-bedroom home on a 1.7 hectare property at 216 Ranzau Rd, Hope. It was initially taken to tender before being priced at its GV of $995,000. Mr Palmer wouldn’t reveal the sale price but said 70 groups viewed it and seven offers were presented during the 13 weeks it was listed.
Frustrated sellers letting
The rental market is hitting its peak season with a “noticeable” increase this year in people wanting to let homes they have been unable to sell, Quinovic Nelson owner-operator Juliet Robinson says. “I’m getting four to five inquiries a week of that nature.” She believes some people have had a strategy to sit tight for a year while the market improves, but that hasn’t happened and now they’re having to act. During the past week, the firm had rented out two properties at more than $700 a week each, she said. “Top-end market properties are walking out the door. The middle ones are sitting a little longer.” Some people planning on shifting to Nelson in three to five years’ time were making the most of the market by buying now and renting out their properties until they relocated, she said.
Deadline sales increase
Some real estate agents are increasingly using “deadline sales” as a marketing tool. Bayleys agent Bruce Farquhar said it was a more successful approach than auction or tender right now. “Buyers seem more wary of auction and under our current REINZ rules, properties taken to tender cannot be sold before the tender date. Therefore, deadline sales offer a good alternative between the two.” A property at 19 Laval Heights, Nelson that Mr Farquhar had listed for a deadline sale closing on December 4 attracted two offers. It sold well above the GV of $390,000, and above the price it fetched a year ago, to an overseas buyer after two weeks of marketing.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 22 November 2008)
Back to top

This publication is compiled by Duke & Cooke Ltd, valuation and property specialists. The information contained within this newssheet has been obtained from various local sources and no responsibility is held for any parties relying on the accuracy of this information without obtaining independent verification.

To contact us regarding circulation of this service: Phone +64 (03) 5489104, Fax +64 (03) 5468668, or email: admin@valuersnelson.co.nz