Not an easy market to be buying in: agents

A NEW report shows Dunedin house sales are taking longer and volumes are down, but local industry figures still do not believe it is a buyers’ market.

The Colliers Market Review and Outlook 202223 was released today, which details and discusses trends in the Otago property market.

The report said Dunedin’s property market shifted to a climate of uncertainty this year as it was characterised by a softening of residential property values.

Sales volumes were down and homes were taking longer to sell, it said.

Despite the prices trending down, those involved in the local property industry did not believe all was well for buyers.

MortgageMe director Daryl Taylor said he encouraged all first home buyers he met to buy now, as prices would go back up again.

Despite changes to interest rates and minimum deposits, the most important factor that dictated property values was supply, which Dunedin was still sorely lacking.

It was the reason that rents remained high while prices dropped, as people still needed places to live.

There had been more activity recently as banks became more eager to lend money, but it was possible the market would rebound quickly, which is why he suggested people get in while they could, he said.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand regional commentator Liz Nidd said although prices had gone down, they were still substantially up on where they were three years ago.

It was a hard time to be looking to buy, as there was so much conflicting information about demand and prices.

Many were not going into sales with a clear idea of the market.

‘‘I really feel for the buyers.’’ There was not the same sense of fear and urgency over missing out on a sale that there was previously, but it was still not an easy market to be buying in, she said.

The report showed Queenstown was resisting the national trend of downward pressure on house prices.

There was a reduced number of listings as homeowners waited out the period of uncertainty, which resulted in decreased volume sales.

Wanaka had a twotier residential property market, with the upper end performing strongly under ongoing high demand and the lower end receiving limited demand with properties taking longer to sell.