Declines seen nationally and in 14 of New Zealand's 19 regions
The changing market may have spooked potential vendors this October, with new listings down year-on-year, realestate.co.nz said.
This came after the real estate website reported rising housing stock levels, buyers’ markets in major centres, and downward-trending asking prices since the property market's peak in January 2022.
Read more: Broker reveals what's happening with Auckland property listings
When compared to October 2021, new listings on realestate.co.nz declined both nationally and in 14 of New Zealand’s 19 regions – a drop Vanessa Williams, the website’s spokesperson, said was noteworthy considering that much of the country was in and out of COVID-19 lockdowns this time last year, Newshub reported.
“Year on year, -16.3% fewer new listings came onto our site during October, suggesting that property owners shied away from putting their homes on the market in October, which is usually a major month for residential listings,” Williams said. “Uncertainty has an impact on the property market. Last year, the pandemic was impacting buying and selling. Now the uncertainty has shifted to the cost of living and inflation, as well as rising interest rates. This might be driving vendors to sit tight as we navigate this changing landscape.”
New listing numbers saw the biggest drops in Central Otago/Lakes District (190, down -35.2%), Wairarapa (97, down -33.1%), and Gisborne (50, down -30.6%).
Bucking the trend with double-digit growth were Coromandel (132, up 38.9%), Nelson and Bays (186, up 17.7%), Waikato (797, up 13.7%), and Marlborough (126, up 13.5%).
Driving the national average asking price downward from its peak in January 2022 were the cooling asking prices in major centres, realestate.co.nz said.
Wellington experienced the largest month-on-month decrease, slipping -7.7% to $891,375. This was followed by Auckland (down -6.2% to $1,159,906), Wairarapa (down -5.6% to $767,961), and Coromandel (down -2.9% to $1,074,809).
This was still a good time to be a seller, Williams said, with users of realestate.co.nz lifting by 11.7% month-on-month in October and page views also increasing.
“When prices ease, it reignites hesitant buyers back into the market – from all different segments,” she said. “Anecdotally we have heard of many first-home buyers coming back into the market, along with investors. But prices are a mixed bag across Aotearoa; not all regions are softening.”
Five regions posted double-digit year-on-year price growth: West Coast (up 22% to $463,184), Northland (up 16.8% to $917,761), Marlborough (up 15.1% to $805,240), Taranaki (up 12.5% to $675,330), and Canterbury (up 10.4% to $712,171).
“Despite the cooling average asking prices in our major centres, 13 regions still bucked the trend, five of which showed double-digit year-on-year growth. And we did have one very notable anomaly,” Williams said.
Central Otago/Lakes became the first region to reach a $1.5 million average asking price – a first in New Zealand's history, realestate.co.nz said.
“A home near the Remarkables is now priced, on average, at $1,541,082, up 8.3% year-on-year – now about $400,000 dearer than a home in Auckland,” Williams told Newshub. “It’s fascinating that, despite the shifting market and challenges we’ve faced in the economy, there are still pockets around the country where property is still at a premium. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on Central Otago/Lakes in the months ahead.”
