Tag Archives: lakes
Median sales prices hit record high in five regions in New Zealand
Five regions in New Zealand saw median sales prices hit a new record high but overall the median price nationals fell by 1% in June, the latest real estate index shows. The median sales price now stands at $500,000 with the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region recorded its fifth record median sale price for 2016, reaching $438,000, while the median price in Auckland reaching $821,000. The data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) also shows that Northland recorded a new record median of $360,000, while Otago reached $295,000 and Central Otago Lakes hit $730,050. The index figures reveal that sales fell 13% month on month which is in line with the general trend at this time of the year although an increase of 6% was recorded in June 2015. ‘Although the onset of winter means that June is generally a quieter month for the real estate market, there has been no let-up in the rate of price increases across the country, with five regions recording new record median prices,’ said REINZ spokesperson Bryan Thomson. ‘Although there is much discussion about the housing market and increasing new build supply, the fact remains that the vast majority of the supply comes from the sale of existing properties,’ he added. The data also reveals a rapid declines in the volume of properties available for sale right across the country, with a number of regions, such as Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, recording very low levels of properties for sale. Thomson pointed out that while Auckland continues to be the largest single region, its influence on the national picture is waning due to its own weaker sales and strong growth in sales in other regions, particularly Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Northland. Auckland’s peak share of national sales was 39.7% in January 2014, however, its share is now just over 33.8%. Over the same period Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s share of national sales has increased from 14.3% to 19.0%. A breakdown of the figures shows that Central Otago Lakes recorded the largest percentage increase in median price compared to June 2015, at 42%, followed by Waikato/Bay of Plenty at 26% and Otago at 19%. The number of properties available for sale across all regions in New Zealand has continued to fall between June 2015 and June 2016. Wellington has the fewest properties for sale with just over seven weeks of supply, closely followed by Hawke’s Bay with nine weeks supply and Auckland with just under 10 weeks of supply. The number of days to sell has only improved by three days at the national level over the past 12 months, although the regions have seen some significant improvements with nine regions seeing a decrease of 20% or more in the number of days to sell. Auckland was the only region to see a lengthening of the number of days to sell over the past 12 months. Between June 2015 and June 2016, the number… Continue reading
Property prices in New Zealand outside of Auckland reach new record
Property prices and sales in New Zealand increased in December with median home values, excluding Auckland, reaching a new record. Sales were up 3.5% year on year but fell 9.1% compared with November, according to the latest index from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. The median prices of a home nationwide increased by 1.2% month on month and 3.3% year on year to $465,000, a rise of $15,000. Excluding Auckland the rise was 8%, taking the median to $379,000. It is the fourth consecutive record median in 2015 and there was also a new record median prices also Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough and Otago. In Auckland median prices increased by 13.6% year on year to $770,000, and increased by 0.7% month on month. REINZ chief executive Colleen Milne pointed out that regional markets, particularly Northland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Central Otago Lakes, are now setting the pace for the New Zealand real estate market, with Auckland, in a relative sense, now in the middle of the pack. ‘The decline in sales volume in Auckland, while noticeable, is likely transitory as the region gets to grips with the new LVR rules for investors, although the median price continues to firm,’ she said. ‘Over the past six months regional markets have demonstrated large declines in the levels of inventory, a significant decline in the number of days to sell, and noticeable increases in the median price, with a number of regions setting new median price records more than once over 2015,’ she added. In addition, Wellington, Manawatu /Wanganui and Otago are also seeing positive movements in days to sell and median prices. ‘This breadth of the improvement across New Zealand suggests that there is more is at play than just an Auckland halo effect, although that has contributed in the northern regions,’ Milne explained. Sales volumes excluding Auckland were down 8.1% from November but up 17.5% on December 2014. On a seasonally adjusted basis, Auckland’s sales volumes were up 8.3% compared to November, indicating that while the headline number showed a sharp drop in sales compared to November, after taking into account seasonal effects, sales were in fact stronger than would have been expected. Northland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay continued to see the most robust sales growth. Aside from Auckland, Hawke’s Bay was the only region to record increased sales volumes compared to November, with volumes growing 0.4%. Year on year nine regions recorded increases in sales volume, with Northland recording the largest increase of 39%, followed by Waikato/Bay of Plenty with 30% and Taranaki with 27%. Continue reading
Property sales in New Zealand surged by over 40% last month, latest data shows
Residential property sales in New Zealand increased by 42.5% in February compared to the previous month while prices were up 0.9% month on month. The data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand also shows that sales are up 12.6% on February 2014 and the month saw the highest February sales level since 2007. The national median price was $430,000 for February, an increase of $15,000 or 3.6% compared to February 2014 and an increase of $4,000 from January. The surge in sales volumes in February compared to January was stronger than is normal, but this partly reflects a catch up after there were fewer sales than expected in January, according to REINZ chief executive Colleen Milne. But it is Auckland that is leading the growth with a rise of 14% in median prices from $592,000 to $675,000. In effect there has been no increase in the median price for New Zealand, excluding Auckland, between February last year and February just gone. ‘This underlines again the view that there are two distinct real estate markets in New Zealand, Auckland and the rest of the country. While politicians and policy makers focus on solutions to the Auckland region’s housing supply problems, they will also be right to reflect on the need to ensure that any national application of new policies doesn’t have an adverse effect on the rest of the country,’ said Milne. All regions recorded an increase in sales volume compared to January, with Waikato/Bay of Plenty recording the largest increase, of 61.8%, followed by Canterbury/Westland with 58.6% and Hawkes Bay with 54.3%. In comparison with February 2014, nine regions recorded increases in sales volume, with Waikato/Bay of Plenty recording the largest, of 40.6%, followed by Otago with 21.8% and Northland with 17.1%. Overall seven regions recording an increase in prices and but on a seasonally adjusted basis the national median house price eased 0.5% compared with January and rose 3.6% compared to February 2014. Auckland recorded the largest percentage increase in median price compared to February 2014, at 14%, followed by Central Otago Lakes at 12% and Otago at 6.8%. Compared to January, Otago recorded the largest percentage increase in median price, at 7%, followed by Manawatu at 5.5% and Nelson/Marlborough at 3.4%. The REINZ Stratified Housing Price Index, which adjusts for some of the variations in the mix that can affect the median price, is 6.1% higher than in February 2014, at 4,069.7. The Auckland Index rose 15.4% compared to February 2014, the Christchurch Index 6.1% and the Wellington Index was flat. Homes took a median of 41 days to sell in February, one day less than for January and the same as for February 2014. Seven regions saw an improvement in the number of days to sell compared to January 2015, with Taranaki recording an improvement of 19 days, Otago 11, and Auckland and Northland two. Otago recorded the shortest median days to sell in February, at 31,… Continue reading
