Auckland, 15 July 2015 – Home seekers hungry for affordable places to live in Auckland are embracing apartments and are not waiting till they are built before putting their money down, according to new research released by CBRE today.
Recent Auckland Council research reveals a significant under-supply of apartments outside of the Auckland central area, while CBRE’s new research shows that the volume of pre-sales exceeded existing apartment sales in in the first quarter of 2015, with 847 apartments pre-sold.
This compares with 681 in Q4 2014, 335 in Q3, and 158 in Q1.
Brent McGregor, Senior Managing Director of CBRE New Zealand said: “This latest research underpins our view that the time of the apartment has arrived. The research shows that buyers are responding positively to the increasing variety of new apartments, with demand evident across the Auckland region.
“The market is clearly embracing the new development pipeline, with several large projects of 100+ units launching to the market over the past year and selling down since then. Developers have responded to demand from people looking for affordable and attractive places to live, and apartment living is on the menu all over Auckland.
“The fact we’re seeing such high interest in apartments before they’re built gives confidence to developers to create more of this type of stock, hence the number of apartment projects being planned over the next three years.”
The new research highlights that:
- Over the past year, the momentum of off-the-plan sales has been increasing
- 847 apartments were sold in the first quarter of 2015, surpassing the sales volume of existing apartments
- Off-plan sales have not been at the expense of the sales of existing apartments, as shown in the stable quarterly volume of existing apartment sales.
Between August-October 2013 more than 1,000 units were launched to the market. The bulk of these were pre-sold in the following months and into early 2014. Limited growth in the active development pipeline during the first half of 2014 constrained the off-the-plan sales volume in the middle of last year. However, a large number of units launched since then have contributed to a rising volume of pre-sales in each following quarter, peaking at 847 during the first quarter of this year.
This research follows research published in June by CBRE showing that 5,700 new apartments are set to be developed across the city’s fringe and suburbs by 2018.
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About CBRE
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2014 revenue). The Company has more than 52,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 370 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
