Strong start to 2019 should help drive vendor confidence
THE WELLINGTON property market has started the new year strongly and sales expectations are high for 2019.
In his latest newsletter, Tommy’s Real Estate investment specialist Mark Hamilton reports supply and demand forces in the capital are more balanced.
He says January was notable for an increase in the number of new properties being offered for sale and he expects this influx to continue into February/March.
‘‘Reports from the Real Estate Institute of NZ indicate that there has been a falloff in demand and a softening of prices late last year in many regions and particularly in Auckland.’’
‘‘This has not been evident to any extent in and around Wellington, where stability of interest rates and relaxation of the loan-to-value ratios has assisted in maintaining buyer confidence and demand for good properties.’’
The country’s largest real estate group, Harcourts, says an 11.64 percent year-onyear hike in the Wellington region’s average sale price, from $468,546 in January 2018 to $523,099, should drive vendor confidence.
The average sale price for Harcourts’ Wellington region, which also includes Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay, was second only to the group’s central region rise of 13.99 percent.
And it recorded merely a 0.99 percent dip in new listings, from 303 in January 2018 to 300.
While Auckland’s average house price dropped 10.15 percent, to $840,825, nationally it rose 2.59 percent to $568,391 and improved in all the other Harcourts regions.
‘‘The new year has brought with it an optimism for 2019,’’ chief operations officer Harcourts International Jo-Anne Clifford says. ‘‘Harcourts are expecting a busy year.’’
REINZ reports Wellington and Gisborne had the lowest levels of inventory in January, with only seven weeks of inventory available to prospective purchasers.
‘‘Inventory levels continue to be of concern at the moment for the industry, particularly with four regions having less than 10 weeks’ inventory available,’’ REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell says.
‘‘These low levels of inventory will continue to push prices up in these regions and are likely to cause people to have to look further out for affordable properties.’’
Says REINZ regional director Mark Coffey: ‘‘The Wellington market started the new year with a slight jump in new listings (up 4.4 percent), but nowhere near enough to lessen the demand.
‘‘The number of weeks inventory is now at seven, down one week from January 2018.
‘‘The market slowed compared to December, which is to be expected due to the holiday season and there were 8.2 percent fewer sales year-on-year.
‘‘However, the low inventory continues to keep prices at stable levels and in January the median price went up 12.2 percent year-on- year to $562,000.
‘‘Additionally, Upper Hutt City saw a record median price of $565,000, showing how buyers are now having to look even further afield for affordable properties.’’
The other median prices around the region included $703,000 for Wellington City, $615,000 for Porirua City, $554,000 for Kapiti Coast, $500,000 for Lower Hutt City, $485,000 for South Wairarapa and $408,000 for Carterton.