New property listings move towards short supply in Auckland

Media Release

New property listings move towards short supply in Auckland

AUCKLAND, 1 June, 2011 –

For the first time since late 2009, the Auckland property market is turning in favour of sellers, with a significant fall in the average long-term number of new property listings in the region.

Data released today in the NZ Property Report – a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – shows that the number of new property listings in May nationally reached 9,898 – 15% down on the same month last year.

The lower number of listings had a big impact on housing inventory, which fell significantly from 54 weeks in April to 47 weeks in May. In spite of a slight lift in new listings against the previous month, Auckland’s inventory fell below the long-term average of 34 weeks to just 30 weeks.

Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz, says that higher sales activity in the first quarter of the year combined with comparatively low numbers of new listings has contracted the Auckland market, shifting the balance in favour of sellers for the first time in over a year and a half.

“There is a level of confidence here from sellers that we haven’t seen in a long while. The cyclical trend we saw following the impact of the global financial crisis in winter 2009 is balancing out and normalising the property market again to some degree.”

However, Mr Helm says that if current trends continue in Auckland, the region could see a shortfall in new listings emerging over the winter period.

“It is common misconception that property sales go quiet as winter approaches. While new listings do tend to drop away, people are still enthusiastically looking for and buying properties.”

Mr Helm says that while the steady shift out of excessive levels of national inventory is giving vendors the upper hand in Auckland and also Queenstown, 10 of the 19 regions are still predominantly favouring buyers for the time being.

“We are clearly seeing a ‘two-speed’ property market in New Zealand at this time, with Auckland leading the rest of the country in levels of property activity,” he says

The NZ Property Report also shows the average national asking price fell from last month’s record high of $429,249 to $414,308, which Mr Helm says is normal for this time of year.

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 May 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.

- ENDS -

© Scoop Media