REINZ says the low numbers are down to a decrease in listings
Property sales took a plunge in June, with the number of properties sold across New Zealand being recorded as the lowest for that month in five years. The number of residential properties sold in June fell by -3.8% year on year to 5,978, down from 6,123 in June 2018. For New Zealand excluding Auckland, the number of properties sold fell by -4.0%.
Regions outside of Auckland with the biggest decreases in sale volumes were Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Tasman and the Wes Coast, with only five regions showing overall sales increases. Four of those were in the South Island, with Gisborne being the only North Island region to record an increase (+1.8%).
REINZ Chief Executive Bindi Norwell says the record low numbers are not surprising, given that new listings were down by -7.3% on the same time last year.
“Feedback from parts of the country is that some people are reluctant to list their property for sale without somewhere to move to, and with fewer listings coming on to the market, it’s slowing down the property cycle and impacting sales volumes,” Norwell commented.
“When you combine that with the difficulty some buyers are still reporting over access to finance, it is understandable why sales volumes are falling across most parts of New Zealand.”
Median house prices increased by 4.5% across New Zealand, up from $560,000 in June 2018 to $585,000. The median price excluding Auckland showed an even stronger increase, up by 5.4% to $485,000 from $460,000 in June last year.
Auckland prices remained flat at $850,000 – exactly the same price as last month, and as June 2018. Manawatu/Wanganui recorded the biggest price increase of 23.3%, followed by Tasman, which recorded a 12.4% increase from June 2018.
“Predictably, Auckland’s median price hit the $850,000 mark – again; with no move in the median price as we’ve seen for some time now,” Norwell said.
“Median prices have continued to hold up across the country in June with a record equal seen for New Zealand at $585,000. Looking at the country as a whole, median prices increased annually in 12 out of 16 regions, were flat in 3 regions (Auckland, Waikato and West Coast) and fell in Marlborough.”
