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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 16th March 2009 RESILIENT LOCAL REAL ESTATE CONDITIONS MIGHT NOT LAST RESILIENT LOCAL REAL ESTATE CONDITIONS MIGHT NOT LASTNelson’s housing market is proving more resilient than elsewhere in the country but Quotable Value is unsure whether that trend will continue, as the hundreds of redundancies announced last week start taking effect. The valuation agency says Nelson house values dropped 7.3 per cent for the three months to February compared with the same period last year, while Tasman’s eased 5.3 per cent. Nationally, house values decreased 8.9 per cent during that period. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 9 March 2009) HOUSE SALES BOUNCE BACK IN FEBRUARYReal estate agents hopeful after sales in Richmond and Nelson city increase February was a more buoyant month for house sales in the Nelson region, with the number sold in Nelson city and Richmond up from January. Figures released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show that 38 properties sold in Richmond, well up on the 15 sold in January and the 17 sold in February last year. In Nelson, 86 properties sold, the same number as in February last year but a 26 per cent increase on the 68 properties sold in January. The median sale price in Nelson of $320,000 was the same as in January, but 8 per cent down on last February’s $350,000. Richmond’s median sales price of $352,750 was up from $292,500 in January but down on the $373,000 median of February last year. There were 17 sales in Motueka, compared with 20 in January and 16 in February 2008. The median price of $305,000 was down on January’s $310,000. There were just four sales in Golden Bay, the same as in January. The median price of $281,000 was up on the $242,000 in January, although it took 254 days to sell a house. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 12 March 2009) REDEVELOPED THEATRE ROYAL TAKING SHAPEThe bones of Nelson’s Theatre Royal reconstruction are slowly taking shape. Nelson city councillor Pete Rainey led his fellow councillors through the progress being made at the Rutherford St theatre yesterday. “Some people will look at the front of the theatre and say nothing has been happening. That’s because everything has been going on at the other end,” Cr Rainey said. The Theatre Royal is having a complete refit, including changing the entrance from the front of the building to the side. The end product will include two floors with 400 seats and a soundproofed rehearsal space, to allow performances and rehearsals to take place at the same time. “It will make this place really hum,” Cr Rainey said. He was optimistic that the theatre would be finished and be in use before the end of the year. “Some parts are ahead of schedule and others are behind.” The project cost $4.1 million, with $1m coming from the Nelson city and Tasman district councils, and the bulk being made up from governmental grants. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 13 March 2009) VILLAGE EXTENSION OPENEDThe newest extension to the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village, which includes a state-of-the-art dementia care unit, has been officially opened. Rymen Health Care chief executive Simon Challies said the $4 million extension was a significant addition to the village, and for the Nelson region as a whole. The care centre had 37 hospital beds, 20 resthome beds and 20 special care dementia beds. Mr Challies said that since the retirement village had opened last April, Ryman had received a clear message that people appreciated the fact the village offered a new standard of care. About 200 people live at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 14 March 2009) PROPERTY WATCHComplex sold privately The former Robinsons Complex in Stoke, previously home to Tasman Bay Foods, has been sold privately by co-owner Brian Hirst to a local investor. Mr Hirst said he had had the property listed with various real estate agents for two years, with only one person taking any interest in it during the past 12 months. Fed up, late last year, he tried selling it himself by publishing six newspaper advertisements over six weeks. “On the first day, I had someone ring me up about it, and they bought it. Subsequent to that, I had 12 other serious inquiries.” The agreement was reached at the end of January and settled this week. Mr Hirst said that he priced the complex at $1.9 million and solid it for $1.8 million – the same figure he was seeking to achieve when he had it listed with agents, who would have taken a $60,000 commission. The property was multi-tenanted and producing a good return. “I was always blown away in why people weren’t interested in buying it,” he said. Section price halved A 610 square metre vacant section at 131 Panorama Drive in Enner Glynn that sold for $200,000 five years ago has now gone for $90,000 in a mortgagee sale. The property, with LIM and Geotech reports available, was listed with Summit agent Bruce Batty and went to auction in December but attracted no active bidders. Mr Batty this week declined to comment on its sale but Quotable Value records show that the $90,000 sale agreement was struck last month and settled on March 3. Its rateable value is $190,000. From postage to paint Motueka’s former Post Office building at 123 High St has sold to Motueka Guthrie Bowron owner William Snowden, who intends relocating his business there. Bayleys Motueka agent Alan Atkins said the property was a well-recognised, key retail site and attracted several out-of-town inquiries when it went to the market as a deadline sale last November. The building has an RV of $580,000. It has a heritage classification protecting the facade, and has been used as a second-hand goods shop in recent years. “The new retail use will really smarten it up,” Mr Atkins said. Mr Snowden said he was looking to renovate it and move his business there within three or four months. Local market changing First National principal Colin Wilson has noted an increase in market activity and says the biggest problem now is a shortage of listings. “A very interesting market is emerging. People are doing their homework extensively before they come looking. I make this observation as most contracts we are writing are only subject to a few things and generally go unconditional within a week.” He cited the example of a contract on a Trafalgar St property priced over $500,000, which was written on Friday last week and went unconditional on Tuesday this week. Mr Wilson said his firm averaged 3.5 visitors across its 12 open homes last weekend, which was good compared with last year and early this year, when visitor numbers were averaging between one and 1.5. “Purchasers have changed in the world of the internet. We don’t get open-home visitors like we used to.” (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 14 March 2009) |
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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 |