Organising your home for winter can seem like an annoying and perhaps unnecessary chore but a little preparation now could save a lot more hassle later.

Clear your gutters

Roofing gutters should be cleared to avoid water build up and overflow – otherwise you risk costly damage to your roof and property interiors. Damp, mould and even flood damage can result, not to mention damage to building foundations if water is not flowing correctly away from a dwelling.

It can be a dangerous job so perhaps consider hiring a professional.

Prune overhanging tree branches

When overhanging branches come into contact with roof cladding they can scratch, gouge and even puncture roofing materials. When pruning branches, remember to stay safe and keep clear of any power lines.

Again, it may be worth hiring a professional to assist.

Gaps under doors and windows

Sealing gaps around doors and windows can make your home feel warmer and save money on your energy bills. There are many different types of weather strips to deal with these draughts so the best and most cost effective action in this instance is to head to your nearest hardware store.

Cover up hard floors

If you have tiles, wood or concrete floors, rugs are an easy and effective way to cosy up your home in winter. Hard floors are not only chilly underfoot in winter they also don’t help hold in any heat, so unless you have underfloor heating, it’s time to invest in a rug or two.

Downlights

Draughts can be a real problem with older style recessed downlights. The best solution is to replace these old style downlights with modern LED downlights that can be insulated.

Insulation

If your home isn’t insulated or the insulation is old or needs topping up, you will struggle to stay warm. You may be eligible for free insulation under Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes (find out more at www.energywise.govt.nz)

Christchurch Real Estate Market Update from Jim Davis, Harcourts South Island Regional Manager

REINZ have just released the latest sales data for our Christchurch real estate market relating to February 2018. The results show some interesting aspects that, if taken out of context, could be misinterpreted.

The raw figures indicate there were 554 residential sales in Christchurch in February 2018, $453,000 was the median sale value and 47 days was the average time it took each property to sell.

In comparison February 2017 sales statistics were 540 residential sales, $452,000 was the median sale value, with an average sale time of 37 days from list date to sale date. From these figures we can see that sales volumes have been very consistent year-on-year 554 vs 540 and the medium sale price is virtually identical as well.

These two indices support what I have been saying for several months now, our local market is very steady and has favoured neither buyers or sellers for quite some time. Prices have remained remarkably steady with minor monthly fluctuations recorded depending on sales activity for that specific month.

We currently have a good steady stable Christchurch market, sitting between the peak of the economic boom of 2007 and the lows recorded following the quakes in 2010/11.

What is interesting is that the days to sell has lengthened in the past year from 37 to 47 days on average. Some commentators will no doubt say this is a result of a slowing market or some such other reason they have heard about. Whereas I think it has a far simpler explanation and it relates more to a perceived change in the best sale method by the public and perhaps some of the consultants here in Christchurch.

When you factor in that fewer vendors have been choosing to auction in recent times, then the result has been that property transactions have taken longer to conclude. Quite simply if your preferred property is not in an auction campaign that requires a buyer to “act”, then buyers are free to submit conditional offers, allowing themselves more time to do their due diligence and so the average time to sell gets longer.  The property sales are still happening, just the average time to sale is extended.

I don’t believe the change from 37 to 47 days represents anything more than the fact that more properties are in the “conditional sale” period now than there has been previously.

Why then would this be happening?

Once again, I believe there is a simple answer, the owners selling property have been used to a stronger more confident market over recent years and as the effects of Government and banking policy have slowed down (but not stifled) market activity, potential vendors have perceived that there might be a better alternative to auction.

There is no doubt that Harcourts as a company and a brand promote and prefer auction as the best and fairest method of sale.

After all –  buyers get to see who else is interested on the day, who else is bidding and as a buyer you can decide whether you are prepared to pay a little bit more than the next person or not. It is, I believe, a lot fairer than the ‘closed offers’ one chance’ scenario that might otherwise prevail with other methods of sale.

As a ‘cash buyer’ you get the first opportunity to bid on and buy your preferred home, while from the vendor’s perspective you get the opportunity to present your property to the ‘cash buyers’ first and achieve a confirmed sale on the terms that you prefer.

If there are no cash buyers on the day, then all interested parties now get the opportunity to make an offer immediately ‘after auction’ be it conditional or cash.

What could be fairer?   This is the reason that so many auction properties are signed up in the days immediately following the nominated auction date.  In the trade we call this “stage three”.

From a vendor’s perspective an auction is as much about the process, as it is about the price. The process to achieve the best possible price, in the best possible time frame.

I would advise anyone looking to sell to talk to their local Harcourts consultant about the auction method of sale.

It’s fair, it’s transparent, it allows some control, it will generate the desired result in most instances compared to other methods and I believe there is an economic benefit (but that’s another story).

Yes – it costs a little more, but I firmly believe the benefits significantly out way the perceived disadvantages.

Talk to your one of our consultants today – there is a reason they are among the best at this method of sale.