Prices will keep rising: Alexander

In his latest Weekly Overview, he says Auckland consent numbers are still 10% below average, despite 29% growth year-on-year.

“Christchurch is well on the way to addressing its earthquake-induced shortage of housing though it will take many years to get the job done. Auckland has yet to make any dent and in fact the shortage gets worse because numbers have yet to attain the long-term average which produced the shortage in the first place, and population growth is now accelerating.”

He said price rises had stalled because first-home buyers were holding off, thinking they would not be able to buy because of the LVR restrictions and because interest rates had risen.

“The 1% rise in floating mortgage rates is probably not the key cause of recent weakness in many residential real estate indicators, but it is meaningful in the context of minimal wages growth for most people following six years of high job uncertainty.”