REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell discusses the latest residential housing statistics
Real estate sales volumes fell across the country in June but house prices have remained stable across the regions, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
The median price across the country rose by 5.7% to a record equal median of $560,000 from the same time last year, and the median price excluding Auckland remained at a record figure of $460,000, up 7.0% on June 2017. The median price in Auckland decreased by 0.7%, and is down to $850,000.
Auckland City remains the most expensive terrestrial authority with a median price of $1,010,000, with North Shore City and Queenstown Lake District following close behind with medians of $975,000 and $908,000 respectively.
The regions of Waikato, Wellington and Marlborough saw record median prices, and areas with notable annual increases included Gisborne and Hawkes Bay.
Despite strong nationwide prices, the number of properties sold across the country decreased by 1.6% since June 2017. This was the result of significant decreases in sales volumes in 8 out of 16 regions and a 9.9% decrease in new property listings year-on-year.
“While Jack Frost may have got his icy grip on sales volumes, he has not been able to extend this to prices as New Zealand’s median price increased by 5.7% year-on-year,” said REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell.
“The lack of housing supply continues to put pressure on prices in the majority of regions across New Zealand, with 12 out of 16 regions seeing a price increase since June last year. Until we solve the supply issue, house prices are likely to continue rising, particularly as the OCR remains low and the banks continue dropping interest rates.”
“From a volume perspective, we’ve seen the usual winter slowdown impact the market,” Norwell continues. “Despite this, there were some regions that saw a strong increase in sales including Hawke’s Bay (+23.0%), Tasman (+22.8%) and Manawatu/Wanganui (+14.1%).”
