‘Flood' of new listings in wake of RWC

The Realestate.co.nz NZ Property Report also revealed asking price expectations remained high despite a 2% fall from the October peak of $434,161, down to $425,956.

"Clearly, there was huge attention on the tournament and people's belief seems to have been that the ‘Rugby World Cup effect' was a distraction and it was best to wait until all the excitement had died down,' said Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm.

He said the number of new listings in November was the highest in over 18 months and 5% up on the same month last year, with the increase led by the Auckland region with 4,459 new listings in November.

"In October we saw new listings were down 3% on the same month last year, which supports the idea of a RWC effect.

"The 18% jump clearly shows interest returning to the market in a flood," he said.

"The overall market has shown strength in the last year, but has also been tight on new listings. The past four weeks have blown this out of the water, with 13,369 new listings nationwide."

Helm said that with the asking price remaining above $425,000, it remained a sellers' market.

"It's definitely still an active market, with a real sense of confidence that new property listings will go on and sell. This is reflected in the asking price average of $426,129. Whilst down 2% on the previous month, it is the same as the three-month average and remains above the long-term average."

Helm said the falling level of inventory also favoured sellers, with the number of unsold homes reducing slightly in the past month to just over 38 weeks after a slight rise in October.

"The levels continue to be well below the long-term average however, leaning the market in sellers' favour, especially in the Auckland and Canterbury regions, with the latter falling to just 23 weeks," he said.