Listings restrain growth: Bayleys

It has released research on the area and said property owners had been reticent about putting houses on the market because they were not confident in the market.

“That appears to have turned now, with growing confidence spurring people back to the market.”

The lifestyle and residential markets experienced a spring lift. But the level of property on the market is still well below levels recorded over the past three years.

The time it would take to sell all the property on the market is 49.3 weeks but sales are still operating at a level below then 10-year average.

Annual sales reached a peak in the year to November 2005 of 2107 sales but has since fallen back to between 700 and 800 sales per year.

Prices have fluctuated over the past five years, driven by sales volumes.

The median sale price for a dwelling in Rotorua was $250,000 for the September 2012 quarter, which is just marginally lower than the September 2007 quarterly peak of $263,000.

“As expected, in the post-GFC residential market, the median sale price in Rotorua did not collapse dramatically. Rather, there was a slight reduction in the year to September 2008 and subsequent fluctuations in the median sale price,” Bayleys said.