Manawatu homes snapped up in bull market

Property sales continue to sizzle for Levin and Feilding and are running strong in Palmerston North.

Sales data for February from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand showed 27 per cent more properties in Levin were sold in February this year than the same month last year. There was a 42 per cent increase in property prices for the town in the same period.

Harcourts Levin principal officer Stuart Pescini said after a three-year influx of Wellingtonians anticipating the new Expressway, the market was not likely to slow now it had opened.

Commuters and motorists were impressed with the highway, and it was helping traffic flow well through Kapiti, even if the overall project from Levin to Wellington was a ‘‘work in progress’’, he said.

‘‘It makes us a lot more accessible, and quicker and easier to get to.’’

Lifestyle block sales by Wellington buyers had seen the biggest growth in the past three years and all other areas of the market had been strong, he said.

In Feilding, 58 per cent more properties were sold during February compared with the same month last year, and prices rose 21 per cent.

REINZ spokesman Andy Stewart said recent demand in Feilding was fed by strength in the Palmerston North market over a longer period, and buyers were looking further afield to find extra range and prices they were happy with.

One-hundred-and-twenty residential homes sold in Palmerston North during February, 14 less than February last year ‘‘when sales volumes started to lift’’, Stewart said.

Of these, the median price was $340,000. Only 15 were above $500,000, and 39 were under $300,000.

Palmerston North listing volumes were still very low, with between 250 and 260 properties for sale, compared with up to 450 18 months ago.

The Manawatu median price for February was up 9 per cent from the same month a year ago, to $260,000, and the national median was up 14 per cent year on year, to $495,000.