‘Frustrated’ home buyers taking risks

First home buyers are so desperate to get on the property ladder some are forgoing recommended checks on properties in a bid to get their offers in more quickly, Taranaki real estate agents say.

Last year the region’s property market boomed with buyer demand far outstripping supply, leading to houses consistently selling wellabove their asking price.

Industry experts don’t believe 2021 will be any different for Taranaki, or the rest of the country.

‘‘I don’t see the market changing too much, we certainly aren’t seeing enough stock coming to market to satisfy buyer demand,’’ Kris Rasmussen, principal of Professionals New Plymouth, said.

‘‘We’re still seeing some pretty big prices getting achieved and buyers are getting frustrated.’’

Buyers constantly missing out on properties were starting to take shortcuts to get their offers in as soon as possible, in some cases forgoing a builder’s report or analysis of the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report on the property.

Rasmussen said buyers should always undertake as much due diligence as they could, and he cautioned first home buyers to avoid paying sky-high prices above asking.

Another property would always become available, he said.

Jeremy Watson of Ray White New Plymouth had also noticed buyers taking risks out of desperation.

‘‘We are seeing people forgoing conditions they’d probably normally include to be in the ballpark of getting a property.

‘‘My prediction is that it will be an even more aggressive, competitive market for the whole year.’’

Watson said 90 per cent of the enquiries he received from potential buyers in December were from the likes of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and even as far as Australia.

Lessening restrictions to make it easier for properties to be subdivided would allow more houses to be built and mean less competition between buyers, Watson believed.

This is something New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has included in its Proposed District Plan.

Juliet Johnson, NPDC manager planning, said the plan had been designed to prepare for population growth and increased density over time.

‘‘The Proposed District Plan will see minimum lot sizes decrease in most of our residential zones.

‘‘The actual minimum size depends on where lots are located and in some areas such as those close to shops and facilities, the minimum size will be removed and proposals assessed on a case by case basis.’’

However, Dean File, general manager of Bayleys New Plymouth, said the reality was there weren’t enough builders in the country to build the housing to fill the gap anyway.

He would like to see first home buyers able to access their KiwiSaver money more quickly to help secure a property.

If the system was a bit quicker they could go in as cashed up buyers, File said.

Depending on the provider, KiwiSaver funds can take between 10 and 15 working days to withdraw.

‘‘There’s still that processing time, which is enough to push them out.’’

File said they were seeing first home buyers getting their finances preapproved to put them in a competitive position to secure a property quickly.

‘‘But I certainly wouldn’t recommend they avoid getting a building inspection or a LIM.’’

‘‘We’re still seeing some pretty big prices getting achieved and buyers are getting frustrated.’’ Kris Rasmussen principal of Professionals New Plymouth