Wellington and Bay of Plenty are no longer in the $1 million club for average asking house prices.
The New Zealand Property Report for April by realestate.co.nz showed the tables were turning on the hot property market.
In March, Wellington tipped into a buyer’s market, and during April Auckland followed.
Average asking prices in these two main centers have also largely been on a downward trajectory since February 2022.
READMORE:
* Trade Me: Record number of homes for sale but demand also growing
* Almost a quarter of property adverts on Realestate.co.nz dropped prices in February
* Asking prices for homes fell in 11 of 19 regions in February as market cools
Supplied
Realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Williams says buyers have more time to do their due diligence and make an educated decision on their future property.
Both Bay of Plenty and Wellington left the $1m club in April. After several months of average asking prices sitting north of $1 million, prices dropped to $908,974 in Bay of Plenty and to $971,976 in Wellington.
Meanwhile, Waikato tipped over the $1m mark for the first time, where the average asking price was up 41.2% compared to the same time last year.
Fifteen-year record average asking prices were also seen in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Otago, Southland, Coromandel, Central Otago/Lakes District and Wairarapa.
Compared to March 2022, however, average asking prices dropped in Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, West Coast and Marlborough.
Realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Williams said that while there was still plenty of demand from buyers, the heat had come out of the market.
“We can already see a cooling market trend in Auckland and Wellington, so we will have to wait and see what happens in our regions.
“We have become accustomed to urgency in the market, with multi-offers and high competition being the norm.
“Right now, however, buyers have more time to do their due diligence and make an educated decision on their future property.”
Chris McKeen/Stuff
Valocity head of valuations James Wilson provides his assessment of the housing market.
Properties in Auckland and Wellington took longer to sell during April than they have on average over the last 15 years since records began.
Williams said Auckland and Wellington tended to lead property trends, so it would be interesting to see whether buyer’s markets emerged in other regions over the coming months.
“Prices have been declining month on month in Auckland since February, and we have seen much the same trend in Wellington,” she said.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Properties in Auckland and Wellington took longer to sell during April than they have on average over the last 15 years since records began.
In April, Hawke’s Bay, Otago, and Manawatu/Whanganui also exhibited signs of moving into buyers’ markets.
Last month, buyers had plenty of choices, with stock up by 70.8% nationally compared to April 2021, a level not seen since pre-pandemic.
Compared to last year, the biggest increase was in Manawatu/Whanganui, where stock was up 174.8% year-on-year, followed by Wellington (up 157.3%) and Hawke’s Bay (up 144.2%).
Williams said it would give buyers some breathing room. “These stock increases likely mean there is less of a rush for buyers to make decisions.”
Compared to April 2021, new listings were down nationally and in 12 of 19 regions last month.
The most significant year-on-year decreases were in Gisborne (down 21.2% with 52 new listings) and Southland (down 19.9% with 165 new listings).
Vendors remained motivated in many parts of the country despite most regions seeing new listings decline, Williams said.
“Compared to April 2021, listings were up by between 12.2% and 28.1% in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson, Coromandel, Central North Island and Manawatu/Whanganui.
“Stock and new listings have been consistently low over the last few years, so these significant lifts likely signal changes in the market.”
