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Auckland produces buyers' market in FebruaryThursday 6 March 2008 The Auckland property market continued its slowing pace in February with just over 600 sales, according to the latest statistics from Barfoot & Thompson. Sales were down a third on the same month last year.Fewer transactions also translated into a lower average sale price, February’s being $495,272 – down 4.3% on January’s $517,613. Managing director Peter Thompson says the general picture can only be seen as a buyers’ market. “Generally, vendors have been slow to adapt to the changing market conditions. It will take time for some vendors, who are selling and then buying on the same market, to accept that the result is often financially neutral as they are probably able to buy better than they may previously have thought,” he said. Thompson also believes the market will continue flattening for some time, although he believes there is no doubt that at the end the ‘flat’, there will be yet another period of increased activity and more raising of sale prices. However, even in the current slumping market, the news is not all bad. Now is the time for people to review their plans, stay put and see whether interest rates will fall, or at least remain at manageable levels, believes Crockers Property Group. For property investors, this could be a golden opportunity. “Properties brought to market may well sell below replacement cost. The question, is whether rental levels and potential future capital growth make them a ‘good’ investment,” says the latest Crockers market research report. “Buyers will need to use their own good judgement, coupled with the usual number crunching, to assess the answer.”
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