Million-dollar plus property sales up 4.2%

2 August 2018
For immediate release
The number of million-dollar plus properties sold increases by 4.2% says REINZ

The number of million-dollar plus properties sold around New Zealand in the first half of 2018 increased by 4.2% when compared to the first half of 2017, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) Million Dollar Price Report.

This meant that the first half of 2018 saw an additional 218 houses sold over the million-dollar mark when compared to the same time last year (from 5,220 houses to 5,438). However, the overall figure is still below the record of 5,867 in the second half of 2016.

The overall increase was even greater when looking at the New Zealand excluding Auckland figure. Outside of Auckland, a record number of million-dollar plus homes sold with a 27.9% increase when comparing 1H 17 compared to 1H 18 (an increase from 1,066 to 1,363 properties).

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “The last national increase in our Million Dollar Price Report was from the second half of 2015 compared to the second half of 2016, so it’s great to see confidence at the top end of the market. These figures, particularly outside of Auckland, highlight some of the buoyancy we’re seeing around the country.

“As land prices continue to hold up around the country and Aucklanders continue to take their search to the regions for a more relaxed and affordable lifestyle, it’s likely we may continue to see the number of million-dollar plus properties continuing to increase in the future,” continues Norwell.

Regional Breakdown

From a regional perspective, Wellington saw the largest increase in the number of million-dollar plus properties sold, with an additional 115 houses sold over the million-dollar mark in the first half of 2018 (from 267 to 382).

Other regions with strong growth when comparing half-on-half were:

• Otago with an increase of 49 properties over the million-dollar mark (from 183 to 232)
• Waikato with an increase of 39 properties over the million-dollar mark (from 138 to 177)
• Bay of Plenty with an increase of 37 properties over the million-dollar mark (from 176 to 213).

Regions with a decrease in the number of million-dollar properties sold were:

• Auckland – a decrease of 79 (from 4,154 to 4,075)
• Tasman – a decrease of 5 properties (from 22 properties to 17 properties)
• Southland – a decrease of 1 property (from 2 properties to 1 property).

The West Coast still remains the only region in New Zealand not to have sold a residential property over the million-dollar mark.

Across the country 223 properties were sold in the $3 million plus category, down slightly from 237 in 1H 2017. Additionally, the number of $5 million dollar plus sales decreased from 55 in 1H 17 to 46 in 1H 18, 41 of which were in Auckland, 1 in the Bay of Plenty, 3 in Otago and 1 in Wellington.

Table 1: Number of million-dollar plus properties sold in NZ

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