Let’s dive right in.
Auckland’s property market seems to be suffering from winter chills. Admittedly, this winter has been mild. And the same can be characterised of the Auckland’s and Eastern Bay/Remuera’s property markets. The rejection of any capital gains tax and record-low mortgage interest rates are providing much-needed support to the housing market, and first-home buyers are especially active. Immigration continues to run at historically high levels.
If you are impatient (!), you can skip to the relevant sections:
Let’s have a look at headline numbers for Auckland.
Auckland’s median price has gone up by 1.2% year-on-year and month-on-month. Sales volume has performed better than last month but compared to same time last year, the volume has decreased quite significantly. This shows that while the media talks about property prices crashing, in actual fact property prices are remaining stable.
There are less transactions simply because 1) homeowners are choosing not to come on to the market (stock levels have been falling) and 2) those that do go on the market can afford to hold out if they do not achieve the price they want.
As such, property prices have not decreased drastically and sale volume has gone down. What we are looking at is a lengthening of the median days to sell to 45 days.
Note 1: Suburbs with less than 5 sales will not have the median property price displayed for statistical and privacy reasons. Also, note that the median property price for each suburb may see large fluctuations given the relatively low number of sales on a monthly basis.
Note 2: The REINZ uses unconditional sales data (when the price is agreed) rather than at settlement, which can often be weeks later. It is therefore more accurate and timely.
In our neck of the woods, we are seeing less listings coming onto the market. Buyers are lamenting a lack of stock, especially for family homes. On the other hand, there have been more off the plan townhouses and apartments coming to the market, making the Eastern Suburbs a more affordable area for many first home buyers.
I have detailed statistics at my fingertips, including recent sales within the Eastern Suburbs (or any suburbs), so do not hesitate to contact me for a no-obligation discussion over coffee on your future plans to either buy or sell.
