colinrealestate

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand
(REINZ) statistics show that the 5893 homes
sold in July was up 2.3% on June this year but
down 13% on July last year. The National
median price was $416,000 for the month,
down $11,250, or 2.6% on June but up
$31,000 on July 2013.
Chief Executive Officer, Helen OʼSullivan said
the market was “firmly in winter mode”, with low
listings and muted activity. “Sales volumes
picked up a little in July compared to last month
but this is about in line with the normal seasonal
pattern”.
Loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions were
having a big impact on Regional New Zealand
in particular, she said. “The reported lack of able
buyers is filtering up the price points and onto
vendor behaviour. In this context it is worth
noting that the Auckland and
Canterbury/Westland accounted for more than
100% of the increase in the National median
price between July this year and July last year,
a further indication that the National price” is
being driven by these two Regions alone”.
Construction in Auckland and Christchurch is
desperately needed to ease demand and ease
rising prices. The market elsewhere can only be
helped by a removal of the LVR restrictions,
allowing first-home buyers the freedom to step
onto the property ladder.
Westpac Chief Economist Dominick Stephens
said he expected a brief resurgence in the
market before a more pervasive downturn
happened. He said house prices were on track
to rise about 5% this year, compared to 10%
Westpac Chief Economist Dominick Stephens
said he expected a brief resurgence in the
market before a more pervasive downturn
happened. He said house prices were on track
to rise about 5% this year, compared to 10%
last year.
More price rises were likely because migration
was expected to hit an all-time high of 50,000
people in a year, he said. “Our research
indicates that net migration usually plays only a
relatively small role in determining house prices.
But sheer weight of numbers means that even
that small role will translate into a reasonable
boost to house prices over the year ahead”.
But he said that would not last. By the second
half of the decade, Stephens predicted a
recovering Australian economy would attract
New Zealanderʼs back across the ditch.

Filed under: REAL ESTATE