Why Us?
We are leading experts in the Auckland residential market with over 30 years experience buying, selling, and renting Auckland real estate.
About Us
Our founder, Martin Dunn is one of New Zealand’s leading real estate personalities. Having grown his business, City Sales, into one of Auckland’s top real estate agencies, his knowledge and experience within the Auckland market is unsurpassed.
Before starting City Sales, Martin was a top broker at Bayleys and Barfoot and Thompson, and has been featured regularly in the media to provide expert analysis on real estate market trends and investment. Martin has been a Vice President of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand and was recognised by his industry peers in 2018 by being made a Fellow of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand for service to the profession.
Having sold more than 5,000 properties in Auckland, and managed over $200 million worth of rentals, Martin’s book ‘Realtor Bible’ is used as a training manual by Real Estate professionals throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Martin launched Real Estate Together in 2020 to help more Kiwis get onto the property ladder, and to make property investment achievable for thousands of New Zealanders for the first time. He is most concerned for ‘Generation Rent’ and for those nearing retirement who are aware of the power of property as an investment but for whom the process and costs have, until now, been too daunting.
Featured In
Martin has been providing expert commentary and analysis on property trends and investment to New Zealand's media for many years
Our Fees
Our Fees for Individuals
TO BUY: Negotiable
TO CONSULT: $2,500 (+ GST)
Co-Ownership Fees
A fee of 4% of the $50,000 or $100,000 contribution (+GST). Additionally there is a flat fee of $2,000 + GST for the legal documentation.
Once the purchase is complete, we charge an ongoing fee for managing the property, which is 8.5% + GST of the rental price. This is the standard fee charged for an audited REINZ-controlled service within our highly regulated industry. If we need to find a new tenant at any point, a fee of one week’s rent will apply.
When the time comes to sell your property, we charge the standard professional market rate at the time.
Risks and Considerations
Property values are tied to interest rates, how many buyers there are for your property, and how many others are also selling their properties at the same time. You may risk losing capital on your initial investment when you sell.
Buying a property can tie up your savings. If you invest most or all of your cash in property and then need access to cash, you’ll either need to sell, tenant your property or increase your mortgage. This isn’t always easy and there are usually fees involved. Your ability to sell your investment will also be dependent on the terms of your Co-Op Contract, if applicable.
Most people pay a deposit and borrow money to invest in property. Ask yourself how much debt you can afford to take on. Use your bank’s mortgage repayment calculator to find out how much you need to repay per month, and how much of your income is left to pay other household bills.
If you cannot find tenants, you will be required to cover the mortgage payments while there is no rental income. Make sure you have enough savings to cover these unexpected costs.
Your mortgage repayment will rise when interest rates go up, affecting your disposable income. A 0.5% rise in interest rate to 6% for a loan of $300,000, fixed for 30 years, would add about $110 more to your mortgage each month, or a repayment of around $1,800 per year.
If interest rates fall, and you choose to refinance a mortgage rate that has been fixed for a number of years, you might need to pay a penalty fee for breaking the terms. This may make your total loan repayment more expensive. It’s also possible to end up owing more than your property’s worth if its value drops. This is known as negative equity.
You need to think about your intentions when you first agree to buy a property. What you intended to do will determine your tax situation when you come to sell. If you buy with a firm intention to resell the property, then you will have to pay tax on any profit you make. This is separate to the brightline test. The intention to sell does not need to be the main reason for buying the property – it could be one of a number of reasons for buying.
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