Big jump for South Wairarapa

ARISE in the sale of $2 millionplus properties last month helped Wellington City to post a record median house price of $815,000.

According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, the annual 18.5 percent hike made the capital more expensive than parts of Auckland.

South Wairarapa also notched up a record median, of $592,000 – which was up 17.7 percent on October 2018’s $503,000.

The month-on-month rise was just as dramatic: up 20.8 percent on September’s $490,000.

But in Carterton and Masterton, there were monthly declines, as well as on the Kapiti Coast, and in Lower Hutt and Porirua.

Upper Hutt posted a modest 1.6 percent month-on-month rise and Wellington City, just 0.1 percent.

The next highest annual gains after Wellington City and South Wairarapa were: Masterton (up 17.1 percent to $410,000), Upper Hutt (up 11.7 percent, to $575,000) and Porirua (up 8.1 percent, to $670,000).

Rises in the remaining areas were between 1.1 percent and 2.7 percent.

Overall, the Wellington region’s median price rose seven percent yearon-year, to $640,000, and just 0.3 percent month-on-month.

Typically it took 29 days to sell a house last month in the Wellington region, two fewer than the 10-year average, while the capital’s inventory was the lowest of all the regions.

‘‘New listings decreased by 8.4 percent compared to the same time last year, and with only six weeks’ inventory available, there is a real shortage of listings in the region,’’ REINZ regional director Mark Coffey says. ‘‘Although there is a lack of stock, it is still moving and exceeding price expectations.’’

Sales were down 14.4 percent yearon-year but up 20.7 percent compared to September 2019.

‘‘There is a real mix of first-home buyers and owner-occupiers, with a few investors still in the market,’’ Coffey says.

‘‘As we head into summer, we should see more listings come onto the market, an increase in investor enquiries and more developments or off the plan properties becoming available.’’

Median house prices across New

Zealand increased by 8.2 percent in October to a record high of $607,500, up from $561,500 in October 2018 – the first time the median house price for the country has crept over the $600,000 mark.

‘‘This is the highest number of regional record prices we’ve seen for the country in 23 months,’’ REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell says.

But the number of residential properties sold across the country fell by four percent, from 7083 a year earlier to 6801.

Norwell says this isn’t surprising given the rush to sell houses before the foreign buyer ban was implemented in October 2018.

‘‘Importantly though, what we did see was the lift in the number of properties sold when compared to September.

‘‘Sales volumes were up 12.1 percent across the country month-onmonth, a pattern we expect to see at this time of the year …

‘‘As confidence continues to creep through, it’s likely we’ll see an uplift again in November, before things quieten down over Christmas and then pick up at the end of January again.’’