Earthquake wipes out seasonal lift in listings

Earthquake wipes out seasonal lift in property listings for Canterbury, while nationwide figures show modest start to Spring

AUCKLAND, 1 October 2010 – In a pivotal month for the property market, indicators in September point to a modest start to Spring nationwide, while the Christchurch earthquake impacted severely on the number of new listings for the Canterbury region. The new data was released today in the latest NZ Property Report, a monthly report of market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz, the country’s most comprehensive property listing website with more than 118,000 listings. The latest issue, covering September, is published on www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand real estate.

While September through November are typically the strongest months for new listings, only 10,559 new properties came onto the market nationwide last month, fewer than the winter months of June or July, and up only 8 percent on August. The September 2010 figures are also well down on the same month last year, a decrease of 17 percent.

The Christchurch earthquake had a considerable impact on the local property market with September figures showing an unseasonal fall in new listings for Canterbury, down 20 percent on August.

With sales activity remaining subdued, the already high inventory of unsold houses nationwide edged up further in September to 47.5 weeks from 46.1 weeks in August. Inventory is measured by the number of weeks of sales necessary to clear properties on the market at any one time. With consolidated long-term data indicating 39 weeks to be the national threshold between a market favourable to either sellers or buyers, current inventory levels indicate that most parts of New Zealand remain a buyer’s market.

Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz says, “Traditionally, there is a much-anticipated rise in new listings in Spring, however the September figures this year point to a modest increase in line with the overall context of a subdued property market throughout 2010.”

Go to www.unconditional.co.nz for the full NZ Property Report.

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 listings across all categories of real estate. Realestate.co.nz lists more than 118,000 properties, representing more than 95 percent of all listings from licensed real estate agents.

ENDS

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