March Comment 2010
THE SPRUIKERS ARE BACK! Seven out of nine sold at yesterday's auctions but there's a murky crowd hanging around in the background. A regular attendee at our auctions - someone staff are not allowed to deal with because of past practice and from whom we will not accept a bid - is even promoting himself as Auckland's apartment expert and running seminars on how to steal apartments!...
February Comment 2010
LATE FOR A REASON It’s 10 February and I have an excuse for writing my Feb comment so late. Prime Minister John Key was to (and did) give his precursor yesterday on his sentiment towards the Tax Working Group’s recommendations on restructuring our tax base. Much outpouring of grief and envy has been directed at what you and I know are struggling property investors and...
January Comment 2010
OPTIMISM ABOUNDS Happy New Year to our faithful readers/clients, hope you had a better break than I did. Two nights at Pauanui feeding 23 twenty year olds and cleaning up after them, wistfully remembering the carefree days of youth….but it was fun. Then flights to Wellington...
December Comment 2009
LOST AGAIN! In October (scroll back...FIRST BATTLE LOST) we detailed the court case where the elderly Bartels, spruiked by a now bankrupt lawyer and Blue Chip into investing in the apartment market lost the case and are being forced to settle the unit. The Bartels subsequently...
November Comment 2009
GET MOVING Our end of year Auction dates are 11 November, 25 November, 9 December and 16 December - if you are contemplating selling please contact us urgently as our market effectively shuts down from Christmas through to a restart late January. This means that if you miss out pre...
October Comment 2009
FIRST BATTLE LOST Thousands of Blue Chip apartment victims are reeling like Shane Cameron in his first round with David Tua – on the ropes and wondering how much more they have to endure. See Bob Dey’s (Bob Dey Property Report www.bdcentral.co.nz ) courageous criticism of...
September Comment 2009
WATCH OUT The NZ Herald today reports our Treasury feeling the “recession may be over”. They feel unemployment is not likely to reach previously expected heights (8%) and bases its upbeat predictions on “the international recovery, positive migration figures, rising...
August Comment 2009
IT'S SPRING! Yes we're still feeling good after the loveliest Winter for years and initiative after initiative from the new Government to redirect the economy. The run up to Christmas has started early and our traditional loss month of July (school holidays, middle of Winter blues)...
July Comment 2009
THE NEW HOUSING CYCLE While the economists will gnash their teeth we are convinced that a new housing cycle has begun. And you all know how economists get it wrong. Colleague Agents in the suburbs are scrambling to find houses to sell and in the lower price echelons new listings are...
May Comment 2009
PRE- AUCTION SALES & MULTIPLE OFFERS The City Apartment Market continues to surprise us. While we’re supposed to be in the middle of a “Once – In – A – Lifetime” (we hope) recession the Apartment Market is defying gravity. At City Sales we are...
April Comment 2009
BUYERS GALORE Is this weird or what? City Sales has never experienced the plethora of buyers currently jamming our phone lines. Where we have enjoyed common faces at the Auctions...
March Comment 2009
CHEAPER TO BUY THAN RENT??? “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” National Business Review tells us today this is now the mantra of the Obama Administration and we...