Naturally, the main topic of conversation was Cyclone Gabrielle and its effect on Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast of the North Island.

Mackay asked how PGG agents and their clients were coping at the moment.

Newbold said it was really tough and all “normal” work had been put on the back burner.

He said a number of PGG clients’ homes had been wiped out, with all their possessions and stock washed away.

Many members of the PGG team had spent time helping their clients and working in the community and they hoped for some resolution over the next couple of weeks - along with some fine weather, Newbold said.

Makcay pointed out that sentiment drove real estate and real estate values and that there were a lot of obstacles at the moment.

Newbold agreed.

He said the cyclone, interest rates and inflation were all on people’s minds, so real estate took a back seat.

Mackay wondered about the plight of people without homes due to the cyclone and asked if it would drive the real estate market in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and other East Coast regions.

Newbold said many homes were seriously damaged and some may not be able to be lived in again.

Where people would live, and what needed to be built represented a challenge to housing stocks moving forward, he said.

It was a sobering thought that some communities may not be able to stay where they were, Newbold said.

Mackay asked about the unaffected parts of New Zealand and whether was there much happening with dairy, sheep and beef or horticulture.

Newbold said that listings and viewings were coming on but the activity wouldn’t flow through until March and April.

The lifestyle market had really stalled and wouldn’t come good until late spring, he said.

Newbold reckoned that, from a rural perspective, and outside the rain-affected areas, it was probably a normal pattern right now.