house sales in 2009 – finishing off the decade well

While 2008 was a hard year in terms of low sales volumes and low values, 2009 showed some encouraging recovery for both home owners and real estate agents. More houses sold and values increased during the year. Median house sale prices rose by 6%. That’s well below the national average as reported in the NZ Herald, but encouraging for investors and home owners who purchased property in Gisborne during the peak of 2007. For the 12 month period the median sale price was $245,000, well below the 12 month national average of $343,000.

When you look at the decade and see how property values have performed in Gisborne, growth has been steady. Ten years ago the median sale price was a little over $100,000. The growth rate has been 133% or 13.3% average annual growth. That’s encouraging growth, despite having a global financial crisis and recession. When it comes to investing in property, “it’s not so much as timing the market, but time in the market …” . The past decade for the Gisborne market has proven this to be so.