Reflections on a rampant market

Ryan Steven appears to fit neatly into the mould of ‘successful young real estate agent’.

He is sharp-suited, smartly coiffed and a smooth communicator. But the Bayleys sales manager and auctioneer is preparing to lay down his gavel early next year and step back from the overheated north Auckland property market, in favour of a much simpler, quieter life.

“My partner and I live in our tiny house that we’ve built and lived in over the last two years,” Ryan says.

“It’s been a labour of love and we’ve been looking at simplifying our life.

“We’re taking it down to Raglan and I’m going to grow food, spend time with my family and aim for self-sufficiency.”

He’s been in the business for nine years, a period when the housing market has not only recovered from the global financial crisis, but boomed to the point where prices have skyrocketed and owning property has become an impossible dream for many people.

The former Navy air traffic controller admits he can’t see a major about-turn anytime soon, not while demand continues to outstrip supply and cashed-up buyers, whether city dwellers seeking a quieter life or expats returning home due to Covid, continue to snap up homes as soon as they hit the market.

“All that generally happens is more or less restrictions on lending money, but they’re just tweaks,” he says.

Average house prices continued to rise in Mahurangi in the first six months of 2021, compared with the same period last year, with the exception of Warkworth, where they were higher to start with and dropped by 16 per cent.

However, there are signs that the tide generally is starting to turn and soaring prices might at least level out.

“I’m starting to notice there’s a bit more of a disparity between what people want to sell for and what people are prepared to pay,” Ryan says. “Buyers are digging in their heels a bit more.”

While he admits there is no magic bullet to make prices more affordable, Ryan says potential buyers can optimise their situation by doing some serious groundwork.

“They should be doing two months of market research, really getting to know what’s happening in the area they want to purchase. Get all the data – how fast homes sell, the price, features of the property, size of land, local schools, transport links.

“If they did all that, and went to six to eight open homes every weekend, they’d have more knowledge than most real estate agents. They’re so much more prepared – the fear of paying too much will be taken away.”

Ryan says, apart from market prices, the biggest change he’s seen in the past decade has been the amount of knowledge available to people.

“Consumers are a lot more savvy, much more informed,” he says. “Now we’ve got four online platforms buyers can go to. There is much more information at their disposal.”

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