A Barfoot and Thompson listing in the Auckland suburb of Flat Bush is offering a free Tesla along with the house as a way of tackling the declining housing market.
The modern two-storey home with seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, two garages, and a two-bedroom granny flat is selling for at least $1.8 million, says the property’s real estate agent, Kapil Rana.
As Auckland’s house prices continue to fall, Rana says these owners are hoping to stand out in the competitive housing market.
Rana says he has had more than 50 email enquiries since advertising the Tesla offer yesterday.
The Tesla has not been purchased yet, says Rana. The owners will let the buyer choose the colour of the car once the property has been sold.
Free Tesla a sign of the times?
Simran Kaur, founder of educational podcast and social media account Girls That Invest, says the free Tesla offer shows how much the housing market has changed recently.
“When I was purchasing my first home in March 2021, it was almost difficult to get a hold of a real estate agent,” says Kaur.
But not now.
New Zealand’s median house prices are well down on this time last year, according to figures released this week by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
In Tāmaki Makaurau, median house prices are down 12.7% since last year, and prices have dropped by 17.2% in Wellington.
Kaur says the Tesla offer is a good example of real estate agents realising that they can’t keep lowering house prices.
“If you sell a home with a Tesla, you suddenly don’t have to drop the price and so it doesn’t start to drag all the neighbouring homes down as well.”
Kaur says it’s not a surprise that New Zealand’s house pricing has been overvalued.
“But now with really high interest rates, even those that could justify a high house price can’t justify the monthly mortgage cost.
“We’ve [got] to the natural point of the housing market cycle where we’re going to see a cool down because there’s not enough interest for the prices.”
But Kaur says prices haven’t declined to the point where homeowners should be worried.
And for Aucklanders interested in a free Tesla with a new home, Kaur says she “wouldn’t be surprised if we see a few more free Teslas popping up”.
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