Property trends stories
Buyers are still active, but high mortgage rates and new debt limits are making deals harder to close across the housing market.
Auckland and Wellington weakened again in May as high mortgage rates and plenty of listings kept the national housing market subdued.
Buyer interest has cooled across New Zealand, with searches per listing down 10.4% as high rates and recession fears deter house hunters.
Higher costs now are prompting borrowers to favour one-year deals, even as CoreLogic says that bets on lower mortgage rates are building.
More listings and higher sales in March suggest New Zealand’s housing slump has passed its low point, with buyers gaining choice.
A glut of listings and high borrowing costs are keeping prices flat, with Auckland edging lower and buyers enjoying more choice.
High mortgage rates and weak sales are keeping the housing market subdued, even as CoreLogic sees prices rising about 5% this year.
More homes are coming to market, but cautious buyers and slower winter-style activity have kept January sales below expectations.
New Zealand’s housing recovery gathered pace last quarter, with national average prices up 2% and only Invercargill recording a fall.
Central Otago Lakes District’s average asking price has jumped 19.3% year on year, underscoring a lifestyle-driven surge in regional demand.
Sales activity picked up in December as lower days to sell and firmer prices signalled the property market may be moving into a more positive phase.
Falling asking prices and fewer new listings pushed the total value of homes for sale down nearly a quarter, data from realestate.co.nz showed.
National new listings fell to a 16-year low in December, but Coromandel bucked the trend with a 21.9% rise.
Sales and new listings jumped in November, with REINZ saying the housing market is showing signs of renewed confidence ahead of Christmas.
More vendors returned to the market in November as government and OCR certainty lifted buyer confidence and steadied asking prices.
Buyer activity has lifted sales and listings, with prices broadly steady and homes taking fewer days to sell across New Zealand.
Buyer interest lifted in October, with new listings, auctions and asking prices all rising after the election.
A weaker New Zealand dollar is helping lure North American buyers, with one investor already eyeing NZD $50 million for local businesses.
Buyers and sellers are returning to the market as September sales rose 5.1% year-on-year and homes sold in fewer days, REINZ said.
Home values are edging higher as first-home buyers and tighter supply lift activity in several centres, despite wider uncertainty.
