Halswell Market Report

Market Commentary

What a summer it's been! Halswell has been a hub of energy and excitement with locals pulling out their picnic baskets and making their way to Halswell Quarry. January 2024 marked the beginning of the year and notable developments in the New Zealand Property Market. Nationally, there was an increase in January house listings year-on-year, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) introduced new mortgage restrictions and the inflation rate reached its lowest point since the start of 2021.

In contrast to the broader market trends, the Halswell real estate market has demonstrated resilience. Over the past six months, the median house sale price has increased by 11% when compared to the preceding half-year period. However, when examining the entirety of 2023, there was a decline of -5.03% in median house prices compared to the figures from 2022.

Interestingly, we saw a decrease in market activity pre-election, and increased activity post election, indicating confidence. With the National government taking over, the outlook for the real estate market in the long term is a good one.

In the past twelve months there has been one notable trend, house sales in Halswell hit a record year. Halswell has now become the largest suburb for residential houses in Christchurch, attracting many Cantabrians due to its suburban lifestyle, excellent schools, and proximity to rural adventures. This signals promising prospects for the suburb, and we still believe that Halswell is undervalued in the long term.

With inflation rate still relatively high, last quarter at 4.6%, homes will continue to be worth less until about mid 2024. Many people will soon be subject to the end of their fixed term mortgages. As long as you’re in a position to pay your mortgage still, factoring in the current high rates, it’s a matter of riding out the storm for now.

Recently, our new government introduced a single mandate to the Reserve Bank, making their sole goal to reduce inflation, ideally to

around the 2% mark. This however does mean that the sustainable unemployment rate will no longer be the main focus, and that unemployment will increase.

If however you are looking to sell now, it is a better time now than it will be in a few months. At this point in the market, buyers simply have a lot of options, and that's only going to get worse. We also have continued interest from national buyers for properties in the Halswell area.

Sellers just need to be realistic about the prices that they can achieve in the current market. I recommend marketing with a realistic price guide, so that you get the best possible price for your home in the shortest time possible. If a home is priced too highly or has no price guide on it, it sits on the market for a longer period of time. The longer a home sits on the market for, the lower its sale price will be, and it will likely end up even selling for below market value.

Looking towards the rest of 2024/early 2025 and the possible bottom of the market before it picks back up again, what do we expect to see?

Once the market hits the bottom, it recalibrates for 12-18 months, and I expect that as the year goes on from mid-late 2024, we will see a return to a healthy level of growth at 2-4% per year.

As of now, the interest rate has decreased marginally, and we don’t expect it to see much change until at least mid 2024. Even if it does move down by then, the restrictions placed by the Reserve bank are there to slow the economy down, by making it harder to buy. It is also now even harder for investors to borrow money. If active listings keep growing as they have been in recent months, it is a given that in a crowded market, the price of a home has to drop in order for it to sell. This is simple economics, and the only figure that needs to be looked at is the number of active listings.

Should you ever need any real estate advice, I am always here to help. As your area specialist, please reach out to me at any time.

Sha Jega

A little about Sha Jega

The first thing you'll notice when you meet Sha is her infectious energy and her ability to connect.

Raised in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, before moving to New Zealand, Sha has learned to connect with people regardless of their background along with the discipline required to succeed.

Originally joining the Najib team as a Property Manager, Sha quickly found a passion for sales and a unique ability to help her clients achieve their dream results.

Sha works closely alongside Nathan Najib, having been mentored and coached by him on her journey to become one of our best agents. With a variety of experience behind her, Sha is knowledgable and passionate about helping clients and works alongside them to be their greatest problem solving ally. Sha has a passion for giving back and enjoys being able to share her knowledge, passed down from Nathan, with the rest of the team. She aspires to be a coach and mentor herself one day and enjoys assisting Nathan with management and leadership decisions here at Najib.

Sha is an early-riser and pushes hard throughout the entire day: Listing, selling, negotiating, meeting with customers and following up, she is always driving the sale forward. Her phone battery will always be full, and she has an internal battery to match!

In real estate, they say the job never ends, but when she does pause from time to time, you'll find Sha sipping on a cool glass of riesling in some fulfilling places or spending time with her miniature schnauzer, Whiskey.

Halswell Breakdown in the last 6 months

Residential Sales

August 2023 - January 2024 28.5

$902,000

Najib Median Selling Price

$845,000

Median Selling Price

18 Najib's Average Days on the Market

Average Days on the Market

211 Properties Changed Hands

$3,030,000 Highest Selling Price

341 Wigram Road, Halswell

Sold by Sha Jega for $887,000

November 2023

"We've been selling property and moving for nearly 30 years. Najib would have to be the best, without a doubt. Professional, efficient, no hassles it was a really good experience."

"Professional,efficient, no hassles"

Elaine Scott (Vendor)

4 Koareare Avenue Halswell

Sold by Sha Jega for $950,000

August 2023

"Sha was outstanding! From the very beginning, Sha was professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and put us at ease. Sha took the time to understand our goals and kept us informed through the entire selling process.

We were particularly impressed with Sha's negotiation skills. We believe Sha was able to get us the best possible price for our home, and she did it in a way that was fair and respectful to all parties."

"Shasaysshemakesclients forlifebutIwouldsaywe havefoundanagentforlife."

David & Jenny (Vendors)

21 Meyer Crescent

Sold by Sha Jega for $840,000

January 2024

"12 out of 10. We are very grateful for Sha's hard work. She sold our house not just in a timely manner, she accommodated all our specific requirements and used the method that suited our situation the best, made the whole process as smooth as possible. She's very knowledgeable. She communicated with us at every step and explained in detail so we have confidence that we were making the right decision.

Thank you very much Sha."

"12outof10.Wearevery gratefulforSha'shardwork."

Top Residential Sales in Halswell

August

Lifestyle Property Sales in Halswell

January

Halswell House Sales

Halswell Annual Sales Data

Residential House and Section Sales

Start with a strategy, end with a sale.

Views: 45% more

Watchlisters: 28% more

Emails: 56% more

Phone: 48% more

Trade Me Statistics, Najib Real Estate

ComparedtootherlistingsonTradeMe

Basedondataoverathree-monthperiod2023

The market has changed.

It’s not good enough to install a signboard, conduct 2 or 3 property viewings, hand out flyers, and hope you can eventually sell a home for a reasonable price.

Those days are gone.

Today you need an agency that has a strategical approach in order to achieve a premium price. At Najib we are proud to say we have perfected the selling process from start to finish.

We don’t just sell homes, we maximise the value of your property each and every time.

Book your free property appraisal with Sha: najibrealestate.co.nz/Sell/Free-Property-Appraisal/

Najib Property Management

This year we have welcomed Bronwyn to Najib as our Property Manager. Bronwyn has a passion for property management and her attention to detail, combined with her knowledge, is an asset to the property management team.

We manage properties all across Christchurch and Selwyn, providing the highest level of service to our landlords and tenants.

We know that the key to a successful investment is having great tenants who look after the property to a high standard and pay their rent on time.

Our passionate and proactive team focus on achieving optimum results. Najib prides itself on reading the market's ebbs and flows to ensure your property always attracts its maximum rental value, with minimal vacancy times.

With our finely-tuned documentation processes and a sound understanding of legislation front of mind, we leave fewer things for you to worry about. This brings you one step closer to securing a profitable future with a steady investment return.

If you would like to find out more about property management with Najib, please take a moment to touch base with Bronwyn. We would love to help you manage your investment.

Najib Sales Team

Nathan

George

Halswell

Emily

Sha Jega

At Najib, the clients always comes first. They are dependent on us. We are dependent on them.

They are not an interruption to our work. They are the purpose of it. They are not an outsider of our business. They are part of it.

We are not doing them a favour by serving them. They are doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.

We would love to thank all our clients and customers for being a part of Najib Real Estate, and for the wonderful reviews you have provided.

4.7/5 5/5

48 reviews

4.9/5

115 reviews

56 reviews

Sha Jega

Specialising in Halswell & Lincoln

@ shajega@najibre.co.nz

116

Christchurch