House sales on the increase
The lastest REINZ sales are out and the market is looking stong in Manawatu¯.
House sales in Palmerston last month almost doubled with 145 properties sold, according to the latest sales figures released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
REINZ ambassador for Manawatu¯ Andy Stewart said only 73 sales were recorded during January which traditionally experiences low sales figures because of the holiday season.
‘‘The 145 sales recorded reflects the expected increase as the market returns to normal after the December/january holiday period. This figure is also an increase in sales volumes compared to the 137 sales recorded in February last year.’’
Of the 145 sales recorded only 12, or 8 per cent, were under $300,000 and a total of 53, or 37 per cent, were under $400,000. Stewart reports there were 36 sales (37 per cent) recorded between $400,000 and $500,000 and 56 sales (39 per cent) above $500,000.
‘‘These figures show a significant shift in the market and at 39 per cent of sales above $500,000 is the highest level that I can recall in any one month,’’ Stewart says.
‘‘Of these sales, two were above $1 million.’’
The median price rose to $431,000. ‘‘The number of days to sell decreased to 22 as fresh listings are being snapped up with many properties being sold under multiple offer presentations in the first week or two on the market.’’
There are 33 houses being sold n Palmerston North each week with 233 currently being advertised.
Seven sections were sold during the month.
In Feilding a total of 27 properties were sold, slightly up on the January figure of 20, however, it is a decrease on the 38 sales recorded in February last year.
The number of sales per week in Feilding is six and there are currently 31 properties being advertised.
Nationally, the number of houses sold houses sold fell by 9.5 per cent, compared to the same time last year. For New Zealand, excluding Auckland, the number of properties sold fell by 6.6 per cent. In Auckland,
‘‘What we are hearing from salespeople around the country is that vendors and investors are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the housing market – much as you would see around election time.’’ Bindi Norwell REINZ chief executive
‘‘Traditionally children go back to school and people return from their holidays and housing activity picks up, however, February 2019 has been an exception to this rule.
‘‘The lower level of sales volumes, compared to the same time last year, can be attributed to a number of things – the raft of legislative changes impacting on the housing market, difficulty in accessing finance, despite a record low OCR and very low mortgage rates from the banks, and vendors’ pricing expectations.
‘‘What we are hearing from salespeople around the country is that vendors and investors are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the housing market – much as you would see around election time. This is particularly true in relation to the recently announced Capital Gains Tax proposals from the tax working group. Families want to know what aspects of the proposals the Government will look at accepting ahead of next year’s election and what impact that will have on them and their family.’’
Norwell says despite volume falls, median house prices keep rising and across the country these increased by 5.7 per cent.