Property in the Bay of Plenty was selling at a "record-low" of a median 30 days. Photo / Getty Images
Property in the Bay of Plenty is selling at a record low of a median 30 days, with the region's annual sales volumes during November at the highest they've been since 2016.
Tauranga real estate agents say homes put on the market on Friday and being sold on Monday was not uncommon as offers were being made within hours of a new listing.
They say rock-bottom interest rates, a shortage of stock and a fear of missing out was driving the demand to get in quick.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand regional director Neville Falconer said the latest figures showed annual sales volumes in the Bay during last month reached 645.
That was 29.5 per cent - or 147 more houses - compared to November last year and the highest since May 2016, he said.
"Properties are selling quickly, with median days to sell at a record low of 30 days," he said.
The current 30 days to sell was much less than the 10-year average for November, which was 42 days.
"Investors have remained active in the market as they are taking advantage of the low interest rates and hurrying to get in before the LVR restrictions change," Falconer said.
"However, there are more cash buyers in the market than the same time last year."
A total of 367 homes sold in Tauranga - up 29.7 per cent from 283 in November last year.
The city's median house price jumped 19.3 per cent to a record $835,000 in November 2020 compared to $700,000 in November 2019.
CoreLogic's Best of the Best report showed Pāpāmoa recorded the shortest time on the market at just 20 median days, followed by Pāpāmoa Beach at 23, Gate Pā at 25 and Welcome Bay at 26.
It took Dave and Donella Butler just 15 days from listing their Ōhauiti home to settlement.
"We signed the contract with the real estate agent on Wednesday, we had one unconditional cash offer on Friday, which fell over and went unconditional on Monday night," Dave said.
"We didn't even have time to put the for sale sign out."
The Butlers have lived in their four-bedroom, brick home for five years after moving to Tauranga from Coromandel.
Dave said he and his wife were looking to buy a lifestyle block but settled on the home in Ōhauiti.
"Back then, things were crazy too," he said. "We just bought something."
The pair spent the past few years doing "substantial" landscaping and tidying up the property and were selling after spotting a lifestyle property they liked and put an offer on.
"It was on the condition that we sold our home. We had a plan and we wanted to create a lot of interest and a quick sale.
"We thought it might have been three weeks but not five days."
However, the Butlers were happy with how the process went.
"We're happy and thankful the team at First National had a plan and managed to pull off the multi-offer situation and they did it in record time."
First National Real Estate Tauranga general manager Cameron Hooper said the number of sales seemed "outrageous" as new stock coming onto the market was at an "all-time low".
"Where are all the new listings coming from? At this rate, the Tauranga real estate market will look like a dairy going broke with nothing on the shelves left to sell.
"There certainly is a buzz around the market, especially when a new listing is released."
Hooper said his team was struggling to keep stock on the shelves for Christmas at this rate.
"As a rule of thumb, anything listed will be under contract within three weeks and a lot of purchasers with offers under $750,000 [are] making them unconditional to get to the top of the pile when entering multi-offer situations.
"While we have purchasers wanting to make offers within the first six hours of being marketed online, we are in most cases waiting to after at least the first open home.
"Live on Friday sold on Monday isn't uncommon."
Hooper said an average of 20 to 30 groups were viewing homes under $750,000 within the week.
Managing director of the Realty Group Ltd, which operates Eves and Bayleys, Simon Anderson, said everyone was selling in fewer days.
This was due to low-interest rates, a global recession where people turn to property and a fear of missing out, he said.
"We've got people coming to their third or fourth auction where they've missed out and the next one that comes up they will buy straight away.
"We've seen properties come on the market and they are sold within the next week."
Anderson described buyer behaviour as "extraordinary".
"This urgency is nothing like I've ever seen in my career in real estate."
General manager of Tremains Bay of Plenty and Waikato, Anton Jones, said homes in Tauranga were, in some cases, selling faster than 30 days.
Jones said most of the sales were at auction and it was becoming "pretty hard" for people to get a property if it wasn't under the hammer.
"On one hand, vendors are happy with the results they're achieving at auction but it's also tough and upsetting for those who just can't get one or their budget doesn't allow them to."
REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said November was an "incredible month" for sales volumes across the country, with just shy of 10,000 properties sold over 30 days.
"The last time we saw a similar level of sales volumes was in March 2007 – 164 months ago – before the national recession and Global Financial Crisis started impacting New Zealand's property market."
Norwell said November saw 10 out of 16 regions recorded double-digit percentage increases in annual sales volumes.
"Part of this is likely to be attributed to people wanting to purchase property ahead of Christmas.
"[It was] partly due to the Reserve Bank announcing in early November that it would undertake a consultation in December to re-introduce LVRs earlier than planned, but also due to this underlying fear that prices might increase even further in the coming months."
1. Papamoa 20
2. Papamoa Beach 23
3. Gate Pa 25
4. Welcome Bay 26
5. Bellevue 26
6. Bethlehem 27
7. Matua 27
8. Greerton 27
9. Otumoetai 28
10. Ohauiti 28
Source: CoreLogic Best of the Best report
'It used to be very much income-based ... that's changed.'