Business Central December 2021
38 | South Taranaki: First National New Plymouth REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A steady hand in a ‘frenzied’ market Richard Loader First National Collective Director Shawn Gibbon. D escribing Taranaki’s current real estate market as frenzied, First National Collective Director Shawn Gibbon says it is the busiest he has seen in his 25 years in residential real estate. “House prices are going through the roof and there is a huge, huge supply issue. There’s a huge amount of people moving to Taranaki from Auckland and Tauranga and a lot of that is around Covid. People are wanting to get out of the big cites where they perceive there to be risk.” Shawn offers the example of four proper- ties that went to deadline sale on the same day and between them attracted twenty separate offers. “So right now, there are sixteen hot buyers that we don’t have a house for. Just prior to this recent lockdown there was a sign the mar- ket was slowing. “Since the new lockdown there is an ex- pectation that the market will get frenzied all over again because of the amount of people wanting to move out of Auckland, the Covid hotspot. If they can work from home, why not work out of a region in New Zealand rather than be locked down in Auckland every time.” According to a recent news report 13,000 people moved from Auckland to the regions last year and Shawn says the feeling is that will be repeated this year. “The average house price in South Taranaki is almost half a million dollars, and only two years ago it would have been two hundred and seventy or eighty thousand dollars. It’s a challenging time for young first homebuyers. KiwiSavers can’t save at the rate the market is moving and every day they don’t buy a house they move further away from their goal.” Shawn says while the rural market has been slow throughout New Zealand for the last three years, with dairy, sheep and beef all at- tracting good returns this year the indications are positive that the rural market is about to bounce back. First National Collective now includes all four Taranaki branches — Hawera, Stratford, Opunake and New Plymouth — along with three Wellington branches and one in the Bay Of Plenty. “Effectively we bought all the branches in the First National network in Taranaki, in order to provide a one-stop-shop for cus- tomers looking for real estate in the region. As a one-stop-shop we do residential, rural, commercial and property management and it doesn’t matter which agent the customer uses they can work with them in any town. So that is where ‘collective’ comes from, we’re one big team, rather than individual offices restricted to certain areas.” With a team of over forty real estate pro- fessionals in Taranaki and more than seventy across all of First National Collective’s branch- es, Shawn has no doubt that the heart of the company’s success is its people. “We have been able to secure some of the best real estate staff in Taranaki and they enjoy working here. We have designated sales people who specialise in either residential, ru- ral, commercial sales, and property manage- ment, and they have committed to study and becoming skilled in their own sector.” Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? Jeff Campbell • Electrical Contractor For domestic, rural or commercial electrical work give Jeff a call Professional • Timely • Experienced 06 278 8345 027 711 7108 OR Evergreen offers you quality and professional service across Taranaki with a team of experienced and qualified Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlaying Solutions. We can design, create, build, repair and refurbish at your Home, Business and in the Industrial sectors! Proud to be involved with First National South Taranaki 145 Glover Road Hawera Phone Office: 06 278 4449 Email: admin@evergreenplumbing.co.nz www.evergreenplumbing.co.nz CONTACT US TODAY Drainlaying Services Heating Services Gasfitting Services Plumbing Services
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