Property market remains tight over summer

Media Release


Property market remains tight over summer as buyer interest surges to record heights

Record levels of traffic to Realestate.co.nz web site show extent of demand

AUCKLAND, 1 February, 2013 – The New Zealand property market remained tight in January as new listings maintained their traditionally low levels for summer, while asking prices rebounded to near record levels on the back of continued seller confidence and no ease in buyer demand. Data released today in the NZ Property Report – a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – showed 8,849 new listings arrived on the market in January – a lift of 4% on levels recorded in both the previous month and at the same time last year.

Paul McKenzie, Marketing Manager for Realestate.co.nz, says that while January’s numbers of new listings always tend to be low in comparison to the rest of the year, buyer interest in property for sale has never been higher.

“In the last three months, we’ve seen around 30,000 new listings come onto the market, which is equivalent to the same period a year ago. However, sales have been up 30% during the same period, which has kept the market very tight,” says McKenzie.

McKenzie also notes that in January the Realestate.co.nz website received its highest ever traffic in a one month period, with more than 1.5 million visits to the site in the last month, indicating that there is an increase in interest of the property market, and demand for homes.

With buyer demand for property remaining high, these new listings did little to significantly shift the current low levels of inventory, which rallied only slightly to 28.7 weeks – well below the long term average of 39 weeks – indicating the market remains firmly in sellers’ favour.

Seller confidence was also reflected in the national average asking price, which rebounded to a level near previously recorded highs, topping out at $440,507 (seasonally adjusted), which represents a 4% rise from December and a 5% shift up on the same time a year ago.

“Auckland also saw its average asking price top $600,000 for the second time on record, while Canterbury’s average asking price tipped the $400,000 mark for the third time in the past 12 months,” says McKenzie.

McKenzie says that with no foreseeable abatement in buyer demand or seller confidence, strong asking prices in the main centres will likely continue well into 2013, especially as February historically sees high numbers of new listings coming onto the market.

“We know that people tend to get their homes ready for sale in January and put them on the market in February. With the number of potential buyers still actively seeking homes, we can expect a very active market in the months 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 January 2013 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.

Click here to read NZ_Property_Report__1st_February_2013.pdf

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