Almost everyone buying or selling a house browses Trade Me at some point. The site has become the go to for real estate and as such generates an amazing amount of data.

Recently Trade Me reported to agents on the latest trends and insights in real estate nationally and there’s a few things worth sharing.

1.     The decline of traditional advertising mediums – the move to digital advertising has been happening for some time but was accelerated by the pandemic. It’s the only medium growing while all others (newspaper, radio etc) are in decline.

2.     Changing consumer behaviour – did you know the average person now spends 8 hours a day browsing the internet? Interestingly, many of us are spending more time on our phones and far less on laptops, computers and tablets.

3.     The shift to a buyers’ market – this has occurred over a three-year period. In 2021 a house would spend an average of 31 days listed on Trade Me for sale. That increased to 57 in 2022 and is now sitting around 60-67 for 2023. In real estate terms that means the market has moved from “hot” to “cool”.

4.     The rise of the regions – better affordability continues to attract people to the regions, with one in five buyers purchasing due to relocating. Otago has been flagged as a region to watch as there has been an increase in average views per property listing.

5.     Working from home – every region in NZ had more people searching with the words “home office” and “study”. Positioning your house as remote-work friendly is more important than ever.

6.     Buyers are less risk averse since Covid-19 – it used to be unthinkable to buy a house without seeing it in person. Now people are willing to take that chance if they have someone to view on their behalf, there’s high quality photos/video, it’s brand new and/or a comprehensive building report is done.

Trade Me’s report offers a national snapshot, but their insights tally with what’s going on locally.

Central Otago has had a very busy May/June in residential sales in Alexandra and Cromwell. There’s still a lot of interest coming from outside the region as we remain a desirable lifestyle destination.

Stocks are low at the moment, though, as many potential sellers do the traditional thing and wait for the daffodils to bloom before going to market.

My advice is not to hold back if you are thinking of selling. There’s less competition and still plenty of buyers around.

If you are concerned about the season impacting the desirability of your home, please get in touch for some ideas about winter presentation.