Lifestyle fuels house price boost
Continuing demand for Nelson’s lifestyle and a ‘‘massive’’ shortage of properties for sale has continued to push up house prices, leaving some first home buyers in properties not fit for tenants, some industry experts say.
Others say there are still ‘‘plenty of opportunities’’ for first home buyers, and they just need to think outside the box.
Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) showed the median house price in Nelson stood at $600,000 in January, a 6 per cent rise year on year.
In Tasman district, the median price was $655,000, a 14 per cent rise compared to the same time last January, and $40,000 above the national median price.
Nelson also saw the biggest percentage annual rise in the number of houses sold across the country, while Tasman saw the biggest drop.
Twenty-three more houses were sold in Nelson in January, a 43 per cent jump on January 2019, with 15 per cent the second biggest rise, in Manawatu¯ / Whanganui.
Annual sales volumes were down 30 per cent in Tasman district, with 17 fewer homes sold in January 2020 – the lowest since January 2017.
REINZ spokesman for the top of the South Island, Darryl Marshall, said monthly fluctuation in sales volumes was not uncommon.
The bigger picture was that home buyer demand continued to outstrip supply in both Nelson and Tasman district, as people continued to move to the region from elsewhere in New Zealand for ‘‘its affordability, accessibility, and lifestyle’’.
Owner of RE/MAX estate agents Kate Bradley said new subdivisions in Richmond in Tasman district might not have created more listings yet, because they hadn’t got titles or finished [being built].
Homes were still ‘‘flying off the shelf’’ in both Nelson and Tasman district, with a ‘‘massive shortage’’ of listings in the Nelson city area, and Stoke, Bradley said.
New builds in Stoke and Richmond had higher than average sale prices, putting extra pressure on first home buyers, she said.
Two-bedroom homes for $500,000 were ‘‘few and far between’’ in Nelson city.
‘‘And you’re going to get 20 groups all wanting it,’’ Bradley said.
More first home buyers were buying former rental properties, put on the market by investors after new healthy homes standards were introduced last year, which included minimum standards for heating, insulation and ventilation, she said.
"First home buyers who just want to get into the market are having to buy houses . . . deemed unfit for tenants.
‘‘And people are spending their entire money to get into a house, so they haven’t got the money to put the extra bats in or put in a heat pump or replace the windows.’’
But sales manager for Ray White in the Nelson region, Ben Cooper, said the estate agents hadn’t experienced a shortage of listings according to its figures from the last eight months.
There were still ‘‘plenty of options’’ for first home buyers, he said. ‘‘They may just have to readjust the area they’re looking in, or they may get a two-bedroom rather than a three-bedroom.’’