Red hot properties down under

REAL estate in New Zealand startled observers when two Auckland homes were sold five times in just four days. The country continues to experience a property boom, considered one of the biggest in the world today. 

Both houses were ‘flipped,’ meaning sold two or more times during a year. The phenomenon is common in piping hot property markets but averaging more than one sale a day for five days straight is unprecedented. 

The properties are actually neighbouring homes located in an affluent Auckland suburb. One saw its value almost double from €900,000 to €1.6 million from February to August 2016. Both properties ended up in the hands of the same developer, who reportedly plans to demolish them and build 18 townhouses in their stead. 

Almost 2,000 homes in the city changed hands more than twice last year and there are so-called ‘flipping hotspots’ scattered around both the north and south islands. The average house price in Auckland recently shot through the NZ$1 million mark (roughly €670,000), up from half that 10 years ago. With foreign investors snapping up thousands of properties the city is now experiencing a housing crisis as many working people are forced to live in tents and caravans.