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Almost 20% of townhouses selling for a loss
Two townhouses in upmarket St Andrews Road, Epsom in Auckland, have resold for losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars – and data showsthey are not unusual.
Almost 20 percent of townhouses are being sold for a lower price than their owners paid for them.
Last week, Cotality reported 11 percent of houses sold in the first quarter of this year changed hands for less than their owners paid for them, and 41 percent of apartments. Townhouses were sold at a loss rate of 18 percent.
That does not include the costs of sale, such as real estate commissions and marketing fees.
The St Andrews Road townhouses were bought for $2.15 million and $1.99m, respectively in 2022, and resold in March for $1.55m and February for $1.65m, respectively.
Across the market, median loss for townhouses was $49,500, similar to the figure for standalone houses.
Buying, refixing or just holding on? Here’s what you need to know about the property market
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said the market for townhouses was weaker than houses, which was expected given the supply that had gone into the market and the slightly softer value performance. “But they’re not totally collapsing.”
He said there were now 242,000 townhouses across the country, 48,000 more than eight years ago.
Another townhouse that sold in the first quarter, on East Coast Road, changed hands for $1.739 million in February after having been bought for $2.35m in November 2023.
Townhouses are 13 percent of all stock and 12 percent of all listings. Houses are 74 percent of all stock and 75 percent of all listings and lifestyle properties are 9 percent of stock and 11 percent of listings.
Auckland real estate salesperson Diego Traglia said the townhouse market had been one of the softer parts of the Auckland real estate sector in the past couple fo years.
Auckland real estate salesperson Diego Traglia. Photo: Supplied / Team Diego
“Performing only slightly better than the apartment sector in many areas. A large portion of townhouses purchased around the 2021 to early 2022 peak are now reselling below their original purchase price, particularly where buyers paid premium prices off plans or during the height of the market.
“From our experience, many of those resales are competing against brand new developments still offering incentives such as cashback, low deposit structures, upgraded appliance packages, or more flexible settlement terms. That creates additional pressure on second hand townhouse owners trying to achieve their original purchase price.”
He said the better performing townhouses were those with larger floorplans and good functionality, houses that were on the end of a block or with more natural light, those that had parking, storage or outdoor space, places with strong schooling and transport links and well positioned homes with a clear market strategy.
“There are still buyers active in the segment, but they are far more price conscious and have a lot of choice, so presentation, positioning, and negotiation matter more than ever in this market.”
Realestate.co.nz said townhouses were staying on the site for an average of 120 days compared to 96 for standalone houses.
The biggest losses of the first quarter
Ventnor Road Remuera, lost $890,000 after 4.2 years
Sandringham Road, lost $820,000 after 5.1 years
Brilliant St, lost $725,000 after 4.3 years
Agathis Ave, lost $655,000 after 4.5 years
East Coast Road, lost $610,100 after 2.2 years
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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