Fewer homes for sale than a decade ago
Higher turnover and demand have led to the lowest number of houses on the market since at least 2006.
New data released by Realestate.co.nz showed there were less than 31,000 properties for sale in New Zealand last month.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Brendon Skipper said the number of homes for sale when the organisation started keeping records in January 2007 was almost 43,000.
‘‘We can safely assume that this is the fewest homes on the market in New Zealand for a much longer time, possibly a decade,’’ he said.
The number of homes for sale climbed steadily to a high of 58,000 in April 2008 and remained at 50,000 for another three years before slowly and steadily declining.
Realestate.co.nz measured how long it would take, in theory, for all current properties on the market to be sold at the average sales rate.
That number dropped in September to its lowest level since the organisation began keeping records. ‘‘We have only 16.3 weeks of inventory, compared to the longterm average of 35 weeks.
‘‘In our main centres, the situation is even more extreme. In Auckland, the inventory is only 9.6 weeks, and in Wellington 11.1 weeks,’’ Skipper said.
Although there has been a rise in listings in most regions compared with September last year, the reality was that properties were now spending less time on the market, suggesting market pressures would remain high while current turnover continued, Skipper said.
‘‘Low inventory, such as this, is usually associated with a sellers’ market and higher asking prices, as we have seen in recent months.’’
While the Realestate.co.nz data for September reveals that the average asking prices in many regions have dropped since August, the longer term trend shows far stronger asking prices.
Six regions in the country achieved their highest average asking price last month, with a further seven reaching their record in August.
The remaining six regions have all recorded their highest ever average asking price in the last six months.