Number of homes for sale hits record low in New Zealand

Number of homes for sale hits record low in New Zealand

Seller confidence remains strong as Auckland registers a new high average asking price, and record low inventory

AUCKLAND, 2 September 2013 – The flush of new listings that typically arrive on the New Zealand property market in spring arrived early this year in August. However, the New Zealand property market tightened further in August as ongoing high demand from buyers drove inventory levels of property for sale to a six year low.

The NZ Property Report – a monthly report of the housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – revealed today that 10,714 new listings arrived on the national market in August 2013. Although listings are up 3% on the same time last year they are still not keeping pace with buyer demand.

Inventory levels fell to a record low of just 23 weeks in August (inventory is measured by the number of weeks it would theoretically take to sell all unsold housing stock on the market). 15 of the 19 regions across the country witnessed falls in available property levels. Inventory levels are now 24% lower than the same month last year, and well below the long-term average of 38 weeks.

Paul McKenzie, Marketing Manager for Realestate.co.nz, said the ongoing demand for homes in Auckland drove the fall in inventory, with the nation’s biggest property market now registering a record low of 11 weeks of housing stock for sale – an 17% fall from the previous month, and 61% less than the long-term average of 29 weeks.

McKenzie says record lows in inventory were also seen in Waikato (27 weeks) and Bay of Plenty (35 weeks), in spite of the increase in new listings that occurred last month.

“Such low levels of inventory continue to place the market firmly in seller’s favour in Auckland. This has been reflected once again in Auckland’s average asking price this month of $650,114, the highest recorded in 7 years, and a $10,000 rise on the previous Auckland high in July.”

Nationally the average asking price for homes remained steady, down just 0.4% to $463,142 from the record high asking price of $465,191 set in July.

McKenzie says that although the market is quite tight at the moment, particularly in Auckland, and Canterbury, that “we can expect to see a increase of new listings coming onto the market in September and October, which will provide a healthy selection of new homes for sale in spring”.

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website, profiling listings of licensed real estate agents with more than 110,000 listings covering residential, commercial, business and farms for sale.

The September 2013 issue of the NZ Property Report, a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz, can be found along with additional analysis of the property market at www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand real estate.

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