Housing buzz suggests slow market at turning point

Auckland’s housing market has endured a particularly harsh winter, with the city’s median sale price dropping 2.4 per cent year on year to $830,000, new figures show.

But reports of busy open homes and properties selling well above CV in premium suburbs suggest the market is at a turning point.

House price figures from OneRoof and its data partner Valocity show the biggest lifts in the national market in the year to last month were in Central Hawke’s Bay (up 16.7 per cent to $385,000) and Manawatu/Whanganui (up 16.3 per cent to $332,500).

Of the major metros, Dunedin enjoyed the biggest price surge, with its median sale price up 12.1 per cent year on year to $437,000. Wellington was also powering ahead, with prices up 7.4 per cent to $650,000.

Hamilton house prices were up a steady 4.7 per cent, while those in Tauranga and Christchurch barely moved in the past 12 months (up 1.6 per cent to $650,000 and 0.6 per cent to $432,500 respectively).

Nationally, house prices were up 2.72 per cent year on year to $565,000.

OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan says the big increases in Whanganui and Hawke’s Bay house prices can be attributed to the abundance of entrylevel homes, “although Census results show both regions may not have the populations to support long-term growth. “The drop in Auckland’s housing market is to be expected, with winter particularly brutal in terms of sales and listing volumes. However, anecdotal evidence suggests the market is picking up again. Next month’s figures will show how much of a spring boost the city is actually enjoying, and whether reports of good prices achieved at auction is enough to tempt sellers back into the market.” James Wilson, Valocity director of valuation and innovation, says the most active participants in the Auckland market continue to be those buying and selling in the $750,000 to $1,000,000 price band, which represents 44.5 per cent of sales.

“Over the last year the overall number of mortgage registrations in Auckland has softened. Refinancers representing 28.5 per cent of new mortgages, closely followed by first home buyers (at 26.4 per cent), and investors at 17.4 per cent.

“It is worth noting that the share of new mortgages to first-home buyers has declined slightly since last month’s figures. This may indicate that first home buyers are reaching their price limits.”

Wilson says 76 per cent of all sales in Auckland transacted below $1 million, with $1.5m-plus sales falling to 6.1 per cent of total sales.