Asking prices for NZ homes highest in four years

Asking prices for NZ homes highest in four years


Auckland property market “humming” as vendor confidence lifts

AUCKLAND, 1 May, 2011 – The average asking price for New Zealand houses has risen to its highest level in four years, suggesting that seller confidence in the property market remains strong.

Data released today in the NZ Property Report – a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – shows that in April asking prices nationally hit a new high of $429,249, just topping the previous market high point recorded in October 2007.

The high average price was helped significantly by the Auckland region – which represents over a third of the New Zealand property market – where prices nudged near to the highest levels ever recorded, topping $550,000 for the third time in the last six months.

Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz, says that the high asking price – calculated on the truncated mean price for all homes for sale in New Zealand – suggests that while the national property market is still favouring buyers, the data shows that sellers are clearly feeling confident that prices are sustainable.

“There were 10,181 new listings brought to the market in April, which is down on last month, but for asking prices to remain at this level shows the market is active, but not desperate or excessively stressed.”

Mr Helm said that Auckland in particular is “humming”, where recent higher levels of sales and slower numbers of new listings over the past month have reduced the regional inventory, and moved the market to start to favour sellers.
“The rest of the country is a little sleepy in comparison, with inventory hitting a national level of just under 54 weeks, but it would be safe to say that this will begin to drop from this point on,” he says.

“In fact, we could easily see Auckland move back towards a shortfall in new listings if trends continue. It certainly feels like a two-speed property market at this time, with Auckland actively out in front with the rest of New Zealand still some way behind in terms of levels of property activity.”

Mr Helm also said that new listings in the Canterbury region were holding up well, as the region continues its recovery efforts from the recent earthquakes.

“Another 1,126 new listings came onto the Canterbury market with asking prices lifting again, suggesting there’s no desperation to sell in the region yet.”

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website profiling listings of licensed real estate agents with more than 117,000 real estate listings covering residential, commercial, business and farms for sale.

The latest issue of the NZ Property Report, covering April 2011, plus more analysis of the property market can be found on www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand real estate.

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