Property movement in favour of buyers
Good news for many would-be housebuyers: Vendors in some parts of the country will accept less for their properties.
Trade Me data shows the property market cooled in January and the average asking price for homes on the site dropped 1.7 per cent compared to December, to $629,800. Auckland’s average asking price fell further – down 3.3 per cent month-on-month to $911,250. That was still only $30,000 below December’s record high asking price.
Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said it would be welcome news for people trying to get into the property market. But he said homeowners should not panic. ‘‘There is still strong demand for properties and we’ve seen the average number of views jump 13.4 per cent in the Super City and increase by 15.9 per cent countrywide compared to a year ago,’’ he said.
Wellington bucked the national trend, hitting a record asking price in January of $570,200. That was almost 11 per cent higher than last January,
The average number of views each property listing in the capital received was up 21.4 per cent year-on-year.
Jeffries said it was still a tough time for first-home buyers in Wellington.
‘‘The Wellington property market has experienced significant growth over the last five years, climbing 41 per cent and earning homeowners a hefty $166,100 since January 2013,’’ he said.
But new data from research firm CoreLogic showed that they were managing to do deals. More than 40 per cent of Lower Hutt’s January sales were to firsthome buyers.
‘‘Access to KiwiSaver funds and grants are assisting these buyers, while low interest rates ate helping to keep mortgage repayments manageable,’’ head of research Nick Goodall said.
Across the country, first-home buyers were 21.7 per cent of sales in January, from 22.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2017.
Asking prices were also up in Otago, Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson and Bay of Plenty. But West Coast and Gisborne dropped.
Jeffries said there was still fierce demand for property in the North Island.
‘‘Property in Gisborne received 51 per cent more views than last January, followed by a 39 per cent increase in views on property in Northland, and Wanganui properties had 36 per cent more views than last year.’’