House sales tumble 30%

House sales nationwide tumbled by 29.3% between March and April alone, highlighting the ongoing slowdown of the market, the Real Estate Institute says.

The institute’s latest figures showed there were just 4860 sales around the country in April. That was down 35.2% from the 7497 sales at the same time last year.

On an annual basis, sales fell by over 10% in every region, but Marlborough had the biggest decline with 53.6%.

In Auckland and Wellington they were down by 41.3% and 34.6% respectively.

Real Estate Institute chief executive Jen Baird said the pace of the market change was stark, and this was evident in the further slowdown in sales activity.

The market was underperforming due to demand challenges, with falling attendance at open homes and auction rooms and a decrease in buyer inquiries nationwide, she said.

‘‘Affordability, uncertainty and changing financial conditions remain primary concerns. Tighter lending criteria, loan-to-value ratios, and increasing interest rates coupled with inflation continue to create challenges for some buyers, particularly first-home buyers and investors.’’

It was now the phase of the property cycle where demand had weakened, sale counts were down, and more stock was staying on the market for longer, but prices remained high, she said.

While the national median price was up 8.8% to $875,000 in April from $804,362 last April, annual price increases were now more moderate. At this time last year, the annual increase was 19.1%.

Most regions had annual price increases, with the biggest being in the West Coast and Canterbury. They were up 31.6% to $362,000 and 20.8% to $684,000 respectively.

But Gisborne, Manawatū / Whanganui and Otago had annual price decreases. And the monthon-month trend also showed an overall fall in prices, with the national median down 1.7% from $890,000 in March.

In Auckland, the median price was up 4.5% annually to $1.17 million in April, but down 2.5% on March, while Wellington’s median was up 7.1% annually to $930,000, but down 0.8% from last month.

Marlborough was the only region to reach a new record price of $764,000, and just four territorial authorities achieved record medians, which was the lowest number since October 2015.

Baird said there was a lot more property on the market, with a total of 27,050 properties available for sale nationally in April, an annual increase of 70.8%.

This combined with a less positive financial and economic outlook meant demand had dissipated, which was alleviating upward pressure and moderating price growth.

Fear of overpaying had overtaken fear of missing out as buyers took the time to consider the increased options available and undertake due diligence, she said.