A lot of recent talk about the flying Auckland market seems to be affecting some seller’s expectations. Unfortunately we are not in Auckland, nor are we in the influenced areas of North Waikato, Coromandel or Bay of Plenty, where there is some rub off with Auckland buyers. There is a little local growth, but our property market is still curtailed by the low and flat dairy prices and the exodus of energy workers from the region. We have had a couple of Auckland buyers, a few expats returning to New Plymouth, but they don’t outweigh the numbers we have lost. Nor do they change the local economic drivers, dairy and energy, both in the doldrums.
We do have a shortage of listings in New Plymouth and we do still have buyers. However until we experience that fundamental shift in dairy or oil prices, we remain stifled by real buyer confidence.
John Christiansen
