Lifestyle blocks tempt buyers

Property buyers have been heeding the call of the countryside as figures show a significant rise in lifestyle property sales in 2020.

According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), the last three months of 2020 saw ‘‘a record number’’ of lifestyle properties sold – 3071 compared with 1922 for the same period in 2019 – an increase of 59.8 per cent.

Kiwis seeking a rural retreat paid slightly more for the privilege during that period too, with the median sale price up 15.2 per cent from the same period in 2019.

Rural spokesman for REINZ Brian Peacocke said the boom reflected a continuation of the ‘‘extraordinary run of sales over recent months’’.

Thirteen regions had the median price of lifestyle blocks increase in the final three months of 2020.

The largest increase was in Gisborne, which had a 70 per cent bump in median price. Hawke’s Bay, a traditionally popular lifestyle retreat, was the exception with sale prices decreasing by 2 per cent.

CoreLogic senior property economist Kelvin Davidson said lifestyle block sales would be up because people, including Kiwis returning to

Aotearoa-New Zealand amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, wanted a bit more space post-lockdown.

‘‘Low mortgage rates will be making that easier too,’’ he said.

‘‘The sheer shortage of listings for standard residential properties may have also been a factor driving some people to lifestyle blocks.’’

Davidson noted that such a huge bump in sales might be misleading, however, as CoreLogic figures showed 2019 was a particularly slow year for lifestyle block sales.

‘‘By our numbers, 2019 was the lowest number of lifestyle sale for seven or eight years,’’ said Davidson.

‘‘That lower starting point flatters the annual growth rate.

‘‘But the point still holds that 2020 was a stronger year for lifestyle sales, along with all other types of property too,’’ Davidson said.

It seems likely that the lifestyle block trend will continue.

In December 2020, the number of houses available for sale nationwide fell to a 13-year low, according to Realestate.co.nz’s market report.

By the end of December there were just 12,932 homes available for purchase in New Zealand, a 29.1 per cent dip from the same period in 2019.

‘‘The sheer shortage of listings for standard residential properties may have also been a factor driving some people to lifestyle blocks.’’ Kelvin Davidson CoreLogic senior property economist