Steady Autumn Real Estate Market

News Release 10 May 2012

Steady Autumn Real Estate Market

The underlying strength of the residential housing market is being reflected in an increase in sales in April and a steadying of the national median house price at near record levels.

April 2012 data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows there was a 13.8% increase in unconditional sales in the month, to a total of 5,676. This was an increase of 689 sales compared with the same time last year.

The national median house price eased back by $5,000 to $365,000, after reaching a new record high of $370,000 in March. The national median house price is up 1.4% compared to April last year. Hawkes Bay sale prices set a new record median for the region of $296,000, up 9.0% compared to April last year.

In line with the usual pattern for this time of year, April sales volume fell by almost 23% compared to March. However, on a seasonally adjusted basis the national sales volume was down 4.1%. All regions apart from Taranaki and Wellington recorded increases in sales volume compared to April last year, with Hawkes Bay and Northland both recording increases of more than 30%. All regions apart from Central Otago Lakes recorded double digit falls in sales volume compared to March. Auckland recorded its highest number of transactions in an April month since 2007 – but the April 2012 total of 2,157 sales is still well below “boom” levels, at just over three quarters of the April 2007 sales total of 2,843.

For the month of April, Central Otago Lakes recorded the highest lift in prices for the month (+19.0%), followed by Hawkes Bay with +5.3%, and Nelson/Marlborough with 0.9%. Compared to April 2011, Hawkes Bay recorded the highest lift in prices (+9.0%), followed by Canterbury/Westland with 3.5% and Auckland with 2.2%. The REINZ Stratified House Price, which adjusts for some of the variations in mix that can impact on the median price, is 2.7% higher than April 2011.

“Activity levels in the real estate market have eased slightly after a strong March,” said REINZ Chief Executive Helen O’Sullivan. “While the national median price has pulled back from the record set last month the trend is still moving up, although not at a great pace. The new record median price for Hawkes Bay is indicative of some improvement in activity in the regions, although for the most part activity remains flat outside the markets of Auckland and Christchurch.”

The national median ‘days to sell’ increased by two days in April compared to March, from 35 to 37 days. Over the past five years the median days to sell has averaged 41 days across New Zealand.

Canterbury/Westland recorded the shortest days to sell at 30 days, followed by Auckland with 33 days and Otago with 35 days. Central Otago Lakes recorded the longest number of days to sell at 59 days, followed by Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Manawatu/Wanganui both at 55 days.

Nationally there were 739 dwellings sold by auction in April representing 13.0% of all sales, up from 555 sales (11.1%) in April 2011. Transactions in Auckland again dominated the auction market, representing 69.8% of the national total of auction sales. 23.9% of all dwelling sales in Auckland were by this method in April – however this was down from the almost 30% of transactions by auction in Auckland in March 2012. Transactions in Waikato/Bay Of Plenty accounted for 11.1% of the national total of auction transactions, Canterbury/Westland for 9.6%, and all other regions combined accounted for the remaining 9.5% of auction sales.

Further Data

Across New Zealand the total value of residential sales, including sections was $2.57 billion in April, compared to $3.35 billion in March, and $2.21 billion in April 2011.

The breakdown of the value of properties sold in April 2012 is:

$1 million plus 248 4.4%
$600,000 to$999,999 773 13.6%
$400,000 to $599,999 1,423 25.1%
Under $400,000 3,232 56.9%
All Properties Sold 5,676 100.0%

The REINZ Housing Price Index fell 0.3% in April compared with March. The REINZ Housing Price Index recorded falls in all Wellington and Christchurch, but rose in Auckland, Other North Island, Other South Island and Sections. Compared to April 2011 the REINZ Housing Price Index rose 2.7%, and the National Index is now 1.4% below the peak recorded in November 2007 (see table and chart below). The Auckland Index however is 2.3% above the previous peak recorded in July 2007.

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