Market springs into action
The Manawatu¯ housing market continues to show positive trends, according to the latest REINZ sales figures.
The median house price in Palmerston North reached a record $411,900, the latest statistics released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show.
This is a 7.5 per cent increase on the median house price in September which was $403,100 and 20.2 per cent up on the median price recorded in October last year of $365,000.
There was more good news in the number of sales recorded over the past month with 156 houses sold during October, well up on the 103 houses sold during September and the 110 sold during October last year. This represented an increase of 19.7 per cent on last month’s sales and an increase of 8.8 per cent on the previous year’s figure.
REINZ CEO Bindi Norwell says prices in the Manawatu¯ /Whanganui region continue to be pushed up as demand outstrips supply and with new listings down -1.8 per cent on the same time last year this trend is expected to continue.
‘‘First home buyer interest has doubled compared to 12 months ago which is especially noticeable at open homes.’’
REINZ spokesman for Manawatu¯ Andy Stewart says the market continues to show positive trends with many agencies reporting strong buyer activity resulting in a large number of multiple offers creating optimum prices and quick sales.
‘‘Of the 156 sales, it is interesting to note that only 18 (11.5 per cent) were under $300,000, and 76 (49 per cent) were under $400,000. This continues to indicate that in comparison to other areas around New Zealand, our city still has a number of affordable homes available although prices are definitely on the rise. There are now fewer sales occurring in the under $400,000 price range. There were 27 sales recorded between $400,000 and $500,000 (17.3 per cent) and 53 sales above $500,000 (34 per cent).’’
The median number of days to sell is 24 while the number of sales in Palmerston North each week is 36.
Stewart says listings have increased slightly but are still at a low level with 223 houses currently being advertised for sale.
The Feilding market saw only a slight increase with 21 houses sold, slightly up on the 19 sales last month and matching the number of sales in October last year.
Available listings in Feilding are at a critical level with 38 properties currently being advertised for sale.
On a national level, the number of houses sold across New Zealand increased by 15.5 per cent year-onyear, representing the highest number of sales in five months.
The number of properties sold nationally increased from 5880 in October 2017 to 6791 last month.
Norwell says during October saw the real estate market spring back into action.
The 15.5 per cent increase was the equivalent if an additional 29 houses sold each day across the whole month.
‘‘Regionally we saw increased sales volumes in 13 out of the 16 regions with 10 of those regions seeing double digit increases. But the stand out results belong to the South Island with the highest volume growth seen in Marlborough which saw a 46.2 per cent increase compared to the same time last year which is a significant increase.’’
Norwell says October saw the introduction of the foreign buyer ban and there have been pockets around the country of people talking about a rush ahead of the ban.
‘‘With Statistics New Zealand’s September quarter figures showing the lowest level of foreign buyers since they began keeping records, we’re confident that most of October’s lift in volume is attributable to the spring lift rather than a rush of foreign buyers looking to get in ahead of the ban.’’