Property report: Rural market resurgence may happen sooner than expected

Peter Newbold, general manager PGG Wrightson Real Estate.

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Challenges facing the rural real estate market may abate sooner than anticipated.

That’s the belief of PGG Wrightson’s General Manager for Real Estate, Peter Newbold.

Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, Newbold acknowledged the market had been tough for an extended period of time.

“It’s probably been the worst in 30 years,” he said.

However, while recent sentiment had been centred around expectations of increased activity in 2025, Newbold now believed this might come to fruition sooner.

“It’s not going to boom, but when you look at some of the messaging that’s coming out from banks, politicians and the [general] state of the market — I just think we’re going to see a lot more activity.”

Newbold said vendors were “being more realistic” and buyers were starting to look at properties, but inflation and interest rates continued to influence the market.

“They’re the two things that, as a nation, we should be focusing on.”

Once sentiment changed, Newbold believed the market would benefit from more confidence and create more opportunities.

Newbold identified the Southland region as historically being an indicator of where the market would head.

“Often when Southland starts to come out of a downturn, or a slow market, that probably sets the scene for the rest of New Zealand,” he said.

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Newbold believed the Southland region had seen strong market activity heading into winter and also had a lot more activity in the pipeline for spring.

“If I go back and look at what’s happened in history — that will tell me things are on the move and that [activity] will spread up the country.”

Newbold also identified the regions as having changed dramatically.

“If you look at heartland New Zealand — the sentiment is better today than it was a month ago.”

Also in today’s interview: Newbold and Mackay discussed the rural livestock market – of which Newbold is also the General Manager.