Election Wait Slows Housing Market
A SPRING BOUNCE in the property market may have been delayed this year but it hasn’t been eliminated entirely.
That’s the message from commentators who say, despite a marked reduction in turnover in August, better times are likely just around the corner.
Real Estate Institute statistics (REINZ) showed 5481 homes were sold in August, down 16.3% from the same month in 2013 and down 7% from July.
Loan-to-value restrictions were still being cited as a significant factor affecting the market but a lack of property listings was also an issue in most parts of the country as low stock levels restricted buyer choice.
REINZ Chief Executive, Helen O’Sullivan said prices are relatively steady, with the median price rising by 1% from July, and the year-on-year price increase now at 7.7%. Auckland and Canterbury remain the dominant contributors to the increase in the national median price, with Regions outside of these two areas representing just 14% of the increase.
Price wise, the residential housing market remains “a tale of two cities and the rest of the country” although the volume decline is now apparent in all areas.
Property listings website Realestate.co.nz said new property listings numbered 9482 in August, 11.5% down on the same time last year. The fall affected most Regions around the country, with only Northland, the Coromandel and Central North Island bucking the trend.
Marketing Manager, Paul McKenzie said that every August “strong lifts” were evident in new property listings after the quieter winter months. “The expected lift did come this year, but it’s not nearly as dramatic as in the past, due to the election.
While the number of property sales was down 16.3% compared with August 2013, REINZ said the number of sales below $400,000 fell by 24.8%. This follows a fall in sales below $400,000 of 21.8% between July 2013 and July 2014. This may be indicative of fewer sales in the lower price brackets since the imposition of the loan-to-value restrictions.
REINZ’s national median price increased $30,000 on the year before, to $420,000. Of that increase, 70% was in Auckland.
Source: Susan Edmunds – NZ Property Investor – October 2014
Filed under: REAL ESTATE