Clearance rates soar as auctions drive buyer confidence

RAY White offices in New Zealand hammered home more strong auction results yesterday as a rising clearance rate indicated buyer confidence was well and truly back.

Ray White Beach Haven, Verrans Corner and Glenfield, part of the Carpenter Group on Auckland’s North Shore, stole the show as they sold four out of their available five properties under the hammer (pictured above), to the tune of a combined NZ$3,645,000.

“Our team seamlessly rotated buyers in and out of our auction centre in between auctions. It’s the first time in 25 years we’ve asked people to come and go for individual auctions – but it worked really well,” said General Manager Lauren Davies of Ray White Carpenter Group.

“I have to say that positivity and confidence in the room was electric and that was matched only by strong and competitive bidding across all five of our auctions. We had 28 registered buyers across our five auctions – meaning there are 24 buyers still waiting for a property.

“The facts are that the real estate market is as strong as ever, and with money as cheap as it’s ever been - buyers are flocking to open homes and auctions.”

The undoubted highlight of the night came in North Shore City’s Beach Haven, where Ray White Glenfield Salesperson Regan Golding sold 12 Paragon Avenue (pictured above) for NZ$965,000, a property that attracted a whopping 18 registered buyers on the night.

“There’s no doubt it’s a seller’s market right now. To attract 18 registered buyers to bid on a single property is an achievement in any market,” Mrs Golding said.

“We made the property live during lockdown and it was certainly the case of being able to look at the presents under the tree and not open them because my private inspections were booked out for the two weeks we had in Alert Level 3.

“We actually brought the auction forward a week to accommodate a buyer and the property ended up selling well over the highest pre-auction offer. The market is so strong right now.”

Similar success was experienced for the Ray White City Apartments team as they successfully sold three out of their five properties under the hammer for a combined NZ$1,050,000.

“There was a good mix of telephone buyers, with around 22 online viewers and 50 people in attendance in the office,” said Ray White City Apartments Group (pictured above) Auction Manager Cameron Brain.

“All bar one person were phone buyers. There were multiple buyers on all properties, with around 15 active buyers and 20 registered.

“It was really encouraging to see strong bidding on all properties in various price ranges.”

The highlight of the day was at 125A Hobson Street (pictured below) in Auckland Central, where Ray White City Apartments Salespeople Judi Yurak and Michelle Yurak managed the NZ$490,000 sale of the property – an apartment that attracted five registered buyers.

“We were encouraged by the level of engagement and enquiry among apartment owners and buyers right throughout the lockdown period,” said Ray White City Group Director Daniel Horrobin.

“Leading into today's auctions, our team was confident yet cautious, given the circumstances surrounding our newly adapted platform and rules under Alert Level 2.

“Phone bidding was encouraged and warmly accepted by buyers, along with a strong engagement online through our Google Hangouts platform.

“Today's auctions demonstrated to us that people are still really keen to transact in the real estate world, especially with the tried and tested auction method of sale, as it continues to create strong competition and outstanding results across the board.”