Demand for quality property remains high, says REINZ
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Lifestyle properties sold nationally have declined by 5.6% for the three months ending in July, data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows.
Overall, there were 1,883 lifestyle property sales in the three months to July, down by 112 from the three months to June. There were 7,251 lifestyle properties sold to July, a 12.3% fall year-on-year. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $5.86 billion for the year to July.
The median price for all lifestyle properties sold was $660,000, up $80,000 from the three months ending July 2017.
REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said it was expected that total sales volumes will ease in the mid-winter period. He highlighted that the steady reduction in total sales for the month of July was at a level similar to that of three years ago.
“The corresponding figure balancing the equation is the median price, which has increased dramatically from $525,000 for the equivalent period three years ago to $660,000 for the most recent period ending July 2018,” Peacocke noted. “Such price levels reflect a sector experiencing good health, but also a shortage of stock.
“The test will be the sustainability of the median price as the availability of property increases in due course, but certainly to date, the median price is showing a steady and inexorable increase over the recent years,” he added.
REINZ said demand for quality property remains high in all regions throughout the country, with five regions recording an increase in sales compared from a year ago. Bay of Plenty recorded the most substantial increase in sales (+18 sales).
All but three of the regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase – Otago (+47%), West Coast (+43%) and Wellington (+31%) and the exceptions were Gisborne (-7%), Taranaki (-5%) and Nelson (-3%).
The median number of days to sell for lifestyle properties was two days longer in the three months to July 2018 as in the three months to July 2017, sitting at 63 days.
