Property demand soared in 2020

Nearly 25 per cent more people were on the search for property in 2020 than there were in 2019, data from Realestate.co.nz reveals.

Not only did the property listings website record 23 per cent more property seekers nationally last year than it did the year before but the number searching marked a five-year high.

The surge in demand was evident in every region in 2020, with the most significant increases seen in the South Island.

Attracting most interest was the Nelson and Tasman region, with searches for property up by 46.1 per cent year-on-year.

It was followed by West Coast which saw property searches increase by 38.9 per cent and Marlborough where they rose by 37.6 per cent. The main cities also attracted interest with searches for property in the Auckland and Wellington regions up by 31.4 per cent and 25.2 per cent respectively.

Realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said that despite all the challenges that came with 2020, the Kiwi love affair with property did not diminish.

The average national asking price rose by 10.7 per cent for the year to $775,976.

In total, all the property listed on Realestate.co.nz in the past year totalled an asking price sum of $94 billion, which was a 5.4 per cent increase on $90b in 2019.

‘‘Coupled with the record demand, this data tells us that people did not shy away from buying and selling last year,’’ Taylor said. But the increase in demand was not matched by the number of properties that came on to the market, with housing stock at record lows around the country. There were 109,128 properties listed for sale nationally in 2020 which was a decrease of 2.6 per cent on the 112,007 properties listed in 2019.

Marlborough had the biggest decline, with 16.2 per cent fewer homes coming on to the market than in 2019.

It was followed by Northland where new listings were down by 15.9 per cent, and in the Nelson and Tasman regions where they dropped by 14 per cent.

Only Auckland region and Central Otago bucked the trend, with increases in listings of 10.5 per cent and a marginal 0.3 per cent respectively. Taylor said that in Auckland region a change had started, with the large number of new homes being built exceeding demand caused by population growth.

Despite this, Auckland region supply was still tight because of the shortfall in previous years.

‘‘Overall, what we have seen quite clearly throughout 2020 is demand for property outweighing supply, which could have contributed to price increases.’’

Average asking prices were up year-on-year in every region in 2020, as well as nationally.

The Gisborne region had the largest price increase, with its average asking price up by 21.8 per cent year-on-year to $526,948.