Record-breaking end to 2019 for property market, Realestate.co.nz says

Monday, 6 January 2020

There are fewer houses listed for sale, and sellers want higher prices for them.

New Zealand's property market rounded off 2019 firmly in sellers' hands, new data from property listings website Realestate.co.nz shows.

It experienced a record national average asking price of $703,780 in December and record lows in new listings and total homes available for sale.

Spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said it was the first time the site had recorded all three milestones in one month.

'There have been years where we have seen a combination of two, but never all three. Low stock, teamed with high asking prices sees us close out the decade as a strong sellers' market,' she said.

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There were 24.5 per cent fewer homes available for sale last month than in December 2018 - at 18,230 nationwide.

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That is compared to a high of nearly 60,000 in April 2008.

Taylor said immigration could be creating the shortage. 'With our population growing at a rate of approximately 60,000 people per year over a 10-year span, significant demand for housing is likely to be putting pressure on our property market.

'In 2020, the total population of New Zealand is estimated be nearing or exceeding 5 million, so we might see this stock shortage continue for some time.'

Taylor said that in times of shortage, people also tended to buy before they sold.

'Given the limited choice of homes available, people are often reluctant to sell without having somewhere to go – especially if the rental market in their area is cramped. This then has a flow-on effect with homes coming off the market before new ones go up for sale.'

Regional New Zealand had driven much of the trend, particularly in terms of prices.

'Generally, we look to our main centres to lead what is happening in the market, but last month we saw our regions really driving national trends,' Taylor said.

Record asking prices were set in Bay of Plenty, Nelson, Southland, Marlborough and Manawatu/Wanganui.

'The only regions where the average asking price has decreased, since the same time last year, are Auckland and the Wairarapa and even then, the decreases are just marginal at 1.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively,' Taylor said.

There were a number of month-on-month asking price falls, led by the central North Island, down 6.1 per cent. Auckland's asking price was up 2.7 per cent compared to November, at $940,761 and Wellington's was up 0.5 per cent to $706,569.

There were just 5528 new listings in December, a drop of 10.7 per cent compared to December 2018.

Only Wairarapa experienced an increase in new listings.

'New listings were down during most of 2019 so we will be watching to see if there is an influx of new listings in late January and February once people get back into a routine after the summer break,' Taylor said.