Marlborough property listings hit record low
There are almost a quarter fewer residential properties on the market now than there were a year ago, new data from Realestate.co. nz shows.
The property listings website has released its February market data, which shows there were 22.3 per cent fewer homes available for sale last month than at the equivalent time in 2019.
A drop in housing stock was recorded in every region the site reports on.
Marlborough reached an alltime low, with 35.9 per cent fewer homes available than in February 2019.
Taranaki and Wairarapa had 42.6 per cent and 36.3 per cent drops in stock respectively.
Spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said the building industry was not supplying enough houses to keep up with demand.
‘‘In about 2004, New Zealand started to really see an increase in the number of new dwellings being built. We weren’t quite keeping up with population growth, but we were certainly taking steps in the right direction,’’ she said.
‘‘When the global financial crisis hit, we stopped building and now we are experiencing the hangover from this quiet period and are struggling to meet the demand for housing.
‘‘Healthy property prices around the country are likely being driven by this lack of supply. This might be good news for sellers, but it presents real challenges for a growing country like New Zealand.’’
She said other industries used technology to scale up production in a cost-effective way.
‘‘If you look at any other growing country in the world, they do not build like we do. It’s not a sustainable way to continue growth,’’ she said. ‘‘The building model we have here in New Zealand is that we have a whole bunch of one-man bands building three or four homes a year.’’
Record asking prices were hit in Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, and Manawatu/ Whanganui in February, Realestate.co.nz said.
Wairarapa’s prices were up 26.6 per cent compared to February 2019, to an average $595,741.
Canterbury was up 4.1 per cent to $520,789. Wellington’s slipped to $682,671. Auckland was at $958,514.
Taylor said an attitude shift might be needed to tackle the pressure in the housing market.
‘‘Our lives look very different to those of our grandparents, but we are still living in homes that were designed for the lives they led.
‘‘Most Kiwis are becoming increasingly time-poor. We are looking for ways to cut down our commuting times and we don’t want to spend our precious weekends on housework and garden maintenance,’’ she said.
High-quality, high-density housing was a global solution that could have great success here, Taylor said, but it would mean buyers giving up on the ‘‘quarter-acre dream’’.
‘‘People want affordability and homes that support their lifestyles. I think we will see a shift in the sorts of homes being built and in how developers start to present the ‘back garden’ that Kiwis love so much.’’
She said changing New Zealanders’ housing ideals might also help the country to increase the efficiency of its housing model.
‘‘If we start to look at how the building market can better supply modern New Zealanders, I think we will find new opportunities to scale up,’’ she said.