Unhappy hunting
Property listings around the country are in short supply as the market starts to move again, writes Susan Edmunds.
Auckland has recorded a lift in property listings but buyers in other centres are not so lucky.
Would-be home buyer Phil Rumble has been looking for properties around Auckland and Northland over the past few months and has not been impressed by the selection.
Prices are rising fast, and he says he is now looking at land in Northland going for twice the price it would have three years ago. ‘‘And in Auckland it’s half a million for a shoebox.’’
House buyers around the country are short of choice as only Auckland reports an increase in the number of listings, data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows.
The data shows that prices held firm, while the number of sales fell nationwide.
After months of record low numbers of houses for sale in Auckland, the number on the market jumped by 1135, or 17 per cent, year-on-year in January.
Rumble said that was likely due to the prices being commanded. ‘‘I think people are cashing up.’’
Excluding Auckland, the number of properties for sale has fallen by 4878, or 22 per cent over the past year.
Median house prices are up 9.4 per cent nationally over the past 12 months across New Zealand, to a seasonally adjusted $490,000.
Hawke’s Bay has hit a record median sales price of $366,000. Marlborough also recorded a new high of $470,000.
But Auckland, Northland, Canterbury and Wellington all reported a drop in median price compared with December. Auckland’s median price fell from $840,000 in December to $805,000.
There were 4307 sales in January, down 6 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from December.
Chief executive Bindi Norwell said that was in line with expectations, because January was usually the quietest month.
‘‘Anecdotal evidence from agents around the country suggests that the market has been picking up speed again towards the end of January,’’ she said.
‘‘The number of properties for sale in Auckland is certainly rising, with more than four months of supply now available and a rise of more than a month of supply over the past year.
‘‘This lead indicator means greater choice for Auckland home buyers, and prompts us to ask whether the Auckland market is showing some early new signs of activity.
‘‘Market fundamentals remain the same, with a rising population, housing shortage and historically low, although potentially rising, interest rates.
‘‘We await the March data with interest, as a clearer picture will emerge of where the market is likely to head through 2017.’’
She said it was too soon to draw any conclusions from January’s data. It would take February and March before a clear pattern emerged, she said.
The number of days to sell increased by 10 days to 41 days in December, the same as in January 2016. The number of days calculation represents how long it would take to sell all the stock in the market, if sales continued at their current pace.
In Wellington, sales fell 10 per cent across the region compared with January 2016, and 48 per cent from December.
Wellington still has the lowest level of housing inventory across New Zealand.