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New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.


Wayne Potgieter

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No

 

You will be pleased to know I am looking at a property in The Meadows Country Estate in Underberg.The most stunning views.

Planned some farms down there in a previous life.

 

Used to be some of the highest performance lamb production there of anywhere. Some guys were getting 3 lamb crops every two years off rye grass and clover.

 

Couple of years ago Farmer Glen tells me they all packed it in due to stock theft, most now farming game because it's harder to steal. So there's that.

 

Why estate? Security?

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The good, the bad, and the funny...

 

Kiwis LOVE an auction. Better yet a $1 reserve auction. TradeMe (Kiwi "Gumtree") users here will know all about the $1 auction section.

 

So recently I was doing a little garage clear-out and decided to put up a lawn mower and a drywall auto-feed screw gun.

 

I put a $150 buy now on each, with a $1 reserve. (I only paid $150 for the screw gun, 2nd hand  :ph34r:  but I did clean it up and service it, :lol: )

 

Anyway, the Buy Now prices were completely ignored and the bidding frenzy began.

 

The mower ended up going for $226 (so about 50% more than the buy-now)

 

And the screw gun for $267. I actually made a profit on the bloody thing :lol:

 

So it's good for me... but bad in the sense that this mentality of naively thinking "ooh I can get it for cheap" in stead of just opting for the certainty of a fair price.

 

Auctions are definitely one of the big reasons behind the NZ house prices running rampant and the much publicised "housing crisis"

Edited by patches
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The good, the bad, and the funny...

 

Kiwis LOVE an auction. Better yet a $1 reserve auction. TradeMe (Kiwi "Gumtree") users here will know all about the 4! auction section.

 

So recently I was doing a little garage clear-out and decided to put up a lawn mower and a drywall auto-feed screw gun.

 

I put a $150 buy now on each, with a 4! reserve. (I only paid $150 for the screw gun, 2nd hand  :ph34r:  but I did clean it up and service it, :lol: )

 

Anyway, the Buy Now prices were completely ignored and the bidding frenzy began.

 

The mower ended up going for $226 (so about 50% more than the buy-now)

 

And the screw gun for $267. I actually made a profit on the bloody thing :lol:

 

So it's good for me... but bad in the sense that this mentality of naively thinking "ooh I can get it for cheap" in stead of just opting for the certainty of a fair price.

 

Auctions are definitely one of the big reasons behind the NZ house prices running rampant and the much publicised "housing crisis"

I reckon it's the same thing here in Australia. House prices are going flipping crazy, like a million dollars more than reserve crazy.

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I reckon it's the same thing here in Australia. House prices are going flipping crazy, like a million dollars more than reserve crazy.

 

 I believe that in Aus real state agents aren't as cagey about discussing reserves as they are here.

 

Over here, as a prospective buyer, if one asks an agent what the ballpark around the reserve is, they'll spin you some BS about how they don't know what the reserve is, only the vendor knows. They'll then very quickly ask what your budget is, and even if you know the house will be way over that, they'll say that "you're in the ballpark" (the very thing they just said they had no clue about), to try entice you to go to the auction, throw your money on the table, and try incite the bidding frenzy.

 

Is it true that in Aus they will at least give you a little more of a straigt answer, or are they as scumbag as the ones we have here?!  :lol: 

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 I believe that in Aus real state agents aren't as cagey about discussing reserves as they are here.

 

Over here, as a prospective buyer, if one asks an agent what the ballpark around the reserve is, they'll spin you some BS about how they don't know what the reserve is, only the vendor knows. They'll then very quickly ask what your budget is, and even if you know the house will be way over that, they'll say that "you're in the ballpark" (the very thing they just said they had no clue about), to try entice you to go to the auction, throw your money on the table, and try incite the bidding frenzy.

 

Is it true that in Aus they will at least give you a little more of a straigt answer, or are they as scumbag as the ones we have here?!  :lol:

I think they give values but typically underquote, sometimes horribly.

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Planned some farms down there in a previous life.

 

Used to be some of the highest performance lamb production there of anywhere. Some guys were getting 3 lamb crops every two years off rye grass and clover.

 

Couple of years ago Farmer Glen tells me they all packed it in due to stock theft, most now farming game because it's harder to steal. So there's that.

 

Why estate? Security?

No

Its the nicer houses than the old vrot colonial ones scattered about,and I don't want a farm and it suits a lock up and go.

 

 

Edit

I thought I would just share the view from the front step

1UB1423062.pdf

Edited by Kranswurm
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No

Its the nicer houses than the old vrot colonial ones scattered about,and I don't want a farm and it suits a lock up and go.

So the security aspect of staying on a remote farm in the Underberg area wouldn't worry you at all? Having spent a fair bit of time in that area and getting to know a few of the farmers, I know firsthand that they have significant security issues (to the degree where they engaged some ex-Executive Outcomes guys a few years ago to try and manage the stock theft situation...  :eek: ).

Edited by GrahamS2
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So the security aspect of staying on a remote farm in the Underberg area wouldn't worry you at all? Having spent a fair bit of time in that area and getting to know a few of the farmers, I know firsthand that they have significant security issues (to the degree where they engaged some ex-Executive Outcomes guys a few years ago to try and manage the stock theft situation...  :eek: ).

Your emigre colleague harped on the same subject

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The bubble will burst eventually and a lot of people are going to get burnt. That's just my uneducated opinion of course, but this seems to be a universal thing.

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No

Its the nicer houses than the old vrot colonial ones scattered about,and I don't want a farm and it suits a lock up and go.

 

 

Edit

I thought I would just share the view from the front step

Sad to think (for us) that that's not even 10% of the value of our house we bought here where we will basically be arms length away from our neighbors (at least we have a bit of a coastal view). Crazy.

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Sad to think (for us) that that's not even 10% of the value of our house we bought here where we will basically be arms length away from our neighbors (at least we have a bit of a coastal view). Crazy.

I am sure that there are many other aspects of life in NZ that more than make up for the ridiculous cost of housing.

How is it going with Thomas?

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