Growth in the regions is fuelling annual sales growth in September of 48 per cent for Tall Poppy real Estate, echoing the latest figures released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

REINZ's September statistics reveal strong growth in regions including Manawatu, Whanganui and Taranaki, aligning with sales achieved by Tall Poppy in each of these areas. Joe Wilkes, a property expert advising Tall Poppy, believes some of this growth is a flow-on effect from Auckland.

'Our teams in places like New Plymouth, Tauranga, the Marlborough Sounds and Christchurch see more Aucklanders at open homes. The cost of living has become too high, and they can't get on the property ladder unless they look further afield,” says Joe.

The first two weeks of October have been strong for the company, and Sam McIntyre, Tall Poppy Director believes spring has come late to the market.

'While September was a good month for us, now the weather is improving, and school holidays are over, more people are listing their homes for sale.

'We expect activity to return to usual spring levels in the lead up to Christmas,” says Sam.

REINZ also reported fewer properties available for sale during September. Joe believes equity is an important consideration for homeowners.

'Kiwis love to trade up - using equity in their home to move up the ladder. With prices not rising at quite the same pace as they were three years ago, and when factoring moving costs - lawyer's fees, moving expenses and real estate fees, people have different motivations now when it comes to equity.

'Realistically, we can expect to see lower volumes for some time yet - real estate agencies with energy and the ability to be nimble will thrive in this slightly different market. Our year on year growth shows Tall Poppy is already meeting market conditions and succeeding, which is due to the skills of our experienced team,” says Joe.