Property

Cooler days for former hot spots

Market activity in formerly hot property markets around the country is declining, with one hot spot losing its appeal to out of towners, new Realestate.co.nz data reveals.

Thursday, February 01st 2018

Auckland, Wellington, the Waikato, Otago and Central Otago Lakes all saw their asking prices either fall or remain flat in January as compared to December, according to the website’s data.

In Auckland asking prices fell by 4.0% to $943,542 while Otago’s average asking prices were down by 1.3% to $383,800 and Central Otago Lakes by 10.6% to $880,669.

Wellington and the Waikato saw their asking prices up by just 0.5% each, leaving them at $596,819 and $549,830 respectively.

Asking prices in Canterbury also declined by 2.1% to $491,358.

Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor says total housing stock was also up in five of these regions compared to the same time a year ago.

“This indicates that many properties are not selling as quickly as in previous years.”

In Auckland total stock was up (20.4%), followed by Waikato (15.2%), Wellington (14.0%), Canterbury (13.8%) and Otago (8.5%).

In contrast, total stock in Central Otago Lakes was down by 5.1% when compared to the same period last year.

New property listings varied among the regions.

Otago, Wellington and Canterbury all saw an increase in new listings of 13.9%, 7.4% and 1.1% respectively, as compared to the same period last year.

But Auckland and the Waikato both saw a decline in new listing of 9.7% and 8.6% respectively.

Nationally, the average asking price was down by 2.0% to $647,535, as compared to December.

At the same time total housing stock was up by 7.0% and there was a 4.9% decrease in new listings, as compared to January 2017.

Taylor says a less frenetic market in the main centres means buyers have the time to take a more considered approach with less competitive pressure to purchase immediately.

“Buyers have more time to view all the options and negotiate without the pressure of a hot market.”

While the major centres were experiencing cooler times, Northland, Central North Island, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Marlborough were all busy in January.

Taylor says that asking prices were up and total stock numbers were down in all these regions.

New listings were down in Northland, Central North Island, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay, but up in Wairarapa and Marlborough.

But, despite the continuing health of the Bay of Plenty’s market, it seems the former halo city of Tauranga is losing its allure to Aucklanders.

Realestate.co.nz’s data shows that viewings of listings to the region from Aucklanders has fallen each January over the last three years (2016-2018).

Taylor says this suggests that Aucklanders are less interested in the region than they previously were.

 

Comments

No comments yet

Most Read

SBS FirstHome Combo 4.29
Unity First Home Buyer special 4.29
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 4.85
China Construction Bank 4.85
TSB Special 4.89
ASB Bank 4.89
Kiwibank Special 4.89
Westpac Special 4.89
Kainga Ora 4.89
BNZ - Std 4.89
AIA - Go Home Loans 4.89
Nelson Building Society 4.93
Westpac Special 4.95
BNZ - Std 4.95
China Construction Bank 4.95
Wairarapa Building Society 4.95
Kiwibank Special 4.95
AIA - Go Home Loans 4.95
TSB Special 4.95
ANZ Special 4.95
ASB Bank 4.95
SBS Bank Special 4.95
SBS Bank Special 5.39
Westpac Special 5.39
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.59
ASB Bank 5.59
BNZ - Std 5.59
BNZ - Classic 5.59
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.59
Kainga Ora 5.69
Kiwibank Special 5.79
ANZ 5.79
TSB Special 5.89
SBS Construction lending for FHB 3.94
AIA - Back My Build 4.44
CFML 321 Loans 4.99
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.95
Co-operative Bank - Standard 5.95
Heartland Bank - Online 5.99
Pepper Money Prime 6.29
Kiwibank - Offset 6.35
Kiwibank 6.35
TSB Special 6.39
China Construction Bank Special 6.44

More Stories

Four decades of 6-7% yearly house price growth ending

Friday, March 21st 2025

Four decades of 6-7% yearly house price growth ending

New Zealander’s reliance on property capital gains in the mid-single digits is at an end.

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

Friday, January 31st 2025

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

It’s been years in the making and former real estate agent Mike Harvey is now coming to market with his platform matching buyers and sellers, an offering he says will be a gamechanger for the industry.

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

Friday, January 17th 2025

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

As interest rates ease and job losses climb, New Zealand’s housing market faces a mixed year of modest growth, with conflicting forces shaping the outlook for homebuyers and investors.

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Former Reserve Bank Governor and National Party leader Don Brash says there are grounds for believing that house prices may finally have ended the three-decade period when they rose significantly faster than incomes.