June /July 2010 It's a season of change. This change seems to have come with the colder, bad weather and this often affects thoughts about Real Estate and "The Market". A common question at this time of year is should I put my property on the market now, or should I wait until September or October? It is surprising how many people who have intentions to sell either withdraw from the market for winter or decide not to come onto the market until spring. This creates opportunity as there are less homes on the market and therefore less competition for sellers. The market here in the last 3 months in the Seaside suburbs could be described as quieter than many of us had hoped, but we have seen a slight pick-up in the market in the last month, with some of the top end properties selling. This is an encouraging sign! Currently I have some outstanding listings, the calibre of properties excellent, the sellers are motivated and waiting for offers. If you are looking to sell, the most critical factors are presentation and price. We strive to get those two correct, add a little time and you have a recipe for success. There has been some discussion in the media recently about auction as a selling method. I offer this view for your consideration: a well informed buyer takes comfort during an auction from the fact that other buyers see value of the offering within a small tolerance (bid) of where they see it and secondly our informed vendors recognize that the auction room is "the market" today. These are perfect conditions for both the buyer and the seller. That's why we do a lot of auctions. The success rate is 3 times higher of a sale in the first 6 weeks on the market than any other method. Globally in May, we saw disruption at airports as many travel plans got cancelled due to the volcanic ash! Greeces economy is in crisis. Nationally we saw a change in the budget, GST rising, depreciation benefits removed on investment properties. We have had our National conference here in Christchurch which was inspiring and our End of Year Awards, at which I achieved: No. 1 Salesperson for the Ferrymead Office (15 years in a row) No. 4 Salesperson in the Grenadier Group No. 11 Salesperson in Canterbury Top referrer to Mortgage Express We are going GREEN and saving paper and trees by switching to e-newsletters as a preferred preference to post so we need to ensure we have your correct email addresses. Please email back your name and if you would like to receive any of the above to alison.carter@harcourts.co.nz or go to the Contact tab and complete an online enquiry form. Thanks,