NY starts with fewer properties for sale, but easing prices

Media Release

New Year starts with even fewer properties for sale, but an ease in asking prices

Record low national inventory driven by growing shortage in Auckland

AUCKLAND, 4 January, 2013 – The New Zealand property market began the New Year with an ease in asking prices, but registered the lowest number of properties for sale on record, as new listings dropped over the traditionally quiet month of December.

Data released today in the NZ Property Report – a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – showed that inventory fell to just 26.6 weeks (seasonally adjusted), with 16 of the 19 regions across the country witnessing falls in available property levels. Inventory is measured by the number of weeks it would theoretically take to sell all unsold housing stock on the market. The long-term national average is 39 weeks.

Paul McKenzie, Marketing Manager for Realestate.co.nz, said the ongoing demand for homes in Auckland drove the fall in inventory, with the nation’s biggest property market now registering a record low of 13.9 weeks of housing stock for sale – an 11% fall from the previous month, and a 43% drop on the same time last year.

McKenzie says record lows in inventory were also seen in Otago (20.4 weeks) and Waikato (31.5 weeks), in spite of a surge in new listings that occurred in October and November.

“New listings are usually down at this far end of the year, but the 8,482 brought to market in December represents a 37% drop from last month and a 3% drop from the same time last year. For this to happen at a time when demand is so high, is significant. Compared to the peak of the market in 2007, new listings are down 26%.”

McKenzie says that while such a tight inventory will continue to lean the market firmly in sellers’ favour, the ease in asking prices to a level just 1% above the price recorded at the same last year – a seasonally adjusted $422,636 – should be some welcome news for buyers.

“Following the record high asking prices recorded over the previous two months, questions of housing affordability were naturally coming into the frame. However, buyer demand is still clearly strong, so seller confidence is likely to remain high for some time to come.

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website profiling listings of licensed real estate agents with more than 110,000 real estate listings covering residential, commercial, business and farms for sale.

The December 2012 issue of the NZ Property Report can be found along with more analysis of the property market on www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand
real estate.

[Download December 2012- NZ Property Report from Scoop.co.nz]

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About Realestate.co.nz
Realestate.co.nz is the official website of the New Zealand real estate industry, and provides the
most comprehensive selection of licensed real estate listings across all categories of real estate.
Realestate.co.nz lists more than 130,000 properties each year, representing more than 95 percent
of all listings currently marketed by real estate professionals.

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