Buyers urged to be decisive

A rise in Rotorua property values means Rachel Sharp's family is selling their house to afford a bigger property, instead of keeping their first home as a rental. Photo / Ben Fraser

House hunters are being urged to be prepared and willing to make quick decisions or risk missing out as Rotorua's property market heats up.

The QV House Price Index for November, released yesterday, shows the average current valuation of a house in Rotorua is $291,963, 8.6 per cent higher than last November and up 6.7 per cent from three months ago.

Average values now sit just 0.6 per cent below the 2007 market peak.

Ray White Rotorua co-owner and principal Anita Martelli said the figures reflected the increased buyer activity.

She said buyers needed to be prepared, have finance pre-approved and a building inspector on standby because often quick decisions needed to be made if there were multiple offers.

"Gone are the days you can look at a house and go away and have a think. If you like it, you should act."

She said having cash, as opposed to needing to sell another house first, made a difference.

"If there is a multi buyer situation and one is a cash buyer, the seller will always work with that one first."

Rotorua woman Rachel Sharp said her family knew only too well the competitive nature of the market.

She said her family had been looking to upsize to their "forever home" for the past year but had missed out on houses because they weren't quick enough.

A rise in Rotorua property values means Rachel Sharp's family is selling their house to afford a bigger property, instead of keeping their first home as a rental. Photo / Ben Fraser

"We don't make decisions quickly and having to be so aggressive goes against our nature."

At the start of their search, they intended to keep their Wallace Cres two-bedroom house as a rental, but prices had risen so much this year the houses they wanted to buy were now out of their price range. Now they will have to sell their house to afford their new one.

She said having a contract that was conditional on the sale of their house was also unattractive in the current market.

"We have been told there are lots of cash buyers, investors and Aucklanders coming down and they have got money."

Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services, which operates Eves and Bayleys Real Estate, said Rotorua's valuations were the highest they had been for quite a long time.

"The fact that Rotorua's average values have increased 8 to 9 per cent in a year is clear evidence that Rotorua is on the move and is benefiting from the wider Bay of Plenty attraction."

He said the increased interest in Rotorua was across the board.

"There are investors, first home buyers, people up sizing or down sizing, new residents and people buying holiday homes. It's great to see."

He said houses that had been on the market a while were starting to sell and there was confidence for developers and builders to start building new homes.

Ian McDowell, of McDowell Professionals, said November was slightly quieter than October but there was still plenty of activity.

"We are still getting good listings coming. People are thinking now is the time to sell because there are a lot of buyers out there."