The 2018 year in review for the real estate industry

The 2018 year in review for the real estate industry

Median Sales Price
• The National median sale price increased 10.6% from January - November 2018 (from $520,000 to $575,000) compared to 11.2% the same period last year (from $485,500 to $540,000)
• The National excluding Auckland median sale price increased 7.8% from January - November 2018 (from $450,000 to $485,000) compared to 12.8% for the same period last year (from $399,000 to $450,000)
• The Auckland median sale price increased 5.7% from January - November 2018 (from $820,000 to $867,000) compared to 6.0% for the same period last year (from $830,000 to $880,000)

Sales Count
• Sales count for New Zealand from January - November 2018 totalled 72,188 which is a 4.2% increase on the same period last year
• Sales count for New Zealand excluding Auckland from January - November 2018 totalled 50,986 which is a 4.3% increase on the same period last year
• Sales count in the Auckland region from January - November 2018 totalled 21,202 which is a 4.0% increase on the same period last year.
Days to sell
• The days to sell for New Zealand decreased by 23.9% from January - November 2018 (from 46 to 35 days)
• The days to sell for New Zealand excluding Auckland decreased by 26.1% from January – November 2018 (from 46 to 34 days)
• The days to sell in the Auckland region decreased by 17.8% from January - November 2018 (from 45 to 37 days).
Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “The 2018 property market has been dominated by a number of key themes including:
1. The ‘foreign buyer ban’ which came into effect on 22 October and whether that would impact the house prices across the country
2. the stabilisation of pricing in the Auckland market which has hovered around the $850,000 for 21 months now
3. The strength of the regions in terms of price growth
4. The increased spotlight on the property management industry with the ban on letting fees and a number of industry players, including REINZ, calling for regulation
5. The continued difficulty first time buyers face to get a foot on the property ladder particularly with the length of time it takes to save for a deposit and rising house prices.
“2018 has certainly been an interesting year for the real estate industry – we’ve seen record median prices reached in many parts of the country, strong sales volumes, a significant amount happening on the regulation front and just recently the foreign buyer ban and the changes to the LVRs,” continues Norwell.
“All in all, we expect 2019 to be another good year for the industry,” concludes Norwell.

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