Auckland on the cusp of a buyers’ market

Real-time statistics from realestate.co.nz show that the Auckland region is indicating a shift into a buyers’ market. Data from March 2019 shows a small fall in the average asking price, more choice of properties and homes taking longer to sell.

“While these are the classic indicators of a buyers’ market, it has potential upside for both buyers and sellers,” says realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor.

“That’s because sellers are also typically buyers looking for their next home. In the same market, buyers will be able to capitalise on lower asking prices for their next move, as the majority are likely to be trading up,” she says.

The Auckland region’s average asking price fell 1.9 per cent in March to $942,232, when compared to the previous month.

New listings in Auckland (4,363) were up 4.6 per cent compared to March 2018, adding to the stock already listed for sale on realestate.co.nz. The total number of homes for sale (11,026) in this region in March was up 15.2 per cent on the same time last year.

The Auckland region accounted for nearly a third of all new listings across the country. Nationally, the number of new listings fell by 3.1 per cent (to 12,102 homes) compared with March 2018.

“Houses in Auckland are also taking longer to sell,” says Vanessa.

“We’ve very much moved on from the pressure cooker market which peaked in 2017.”

“It was a time when buyers and sellers had to make snap decisions under enormous pressure, with the nightmare possibility of a stumble on the next rung of the property ladder, such as selling a home but not able to purchase the next one because of the rise in prices in the interim.

“In the current market, buyers and sellers can take a more considered approach to purchasing their next home,” she says.

“A lift in new property listings, an increase in total stock and relatively stable prices takes the pressure off.

“We’ve seen that Kiwi’s passion for property is not slowing down, with 1,135,945 unique browsers searching on realestate.co.nz during the month of March. This is up 25.2 per cent on March 2018.

“When looking at the past five years, the relatively stable price environment we have right now is a stark contrast to the heady increases between 2015 and 2017.

“Less stress and more realistic expectations,” says Vanessa.

2017* Auckland’s average asking price peaked to its all-time high in December 2017 at $982,673.

“Falls in average asking prices could also possibly assist some first home buyers as these falls are across all price bands.

“If people move up from their first to their second home, it will free-up stock at the entry level,” says Vanessa.

National increase in average asking prices counterbalance’s Auckland’s fall. Five regions hit all-time highs, since records began in 2007.

The March fall in Auckland’s average asking price has been counter-balanced by increases in other regions throughout New Zealand. These include record highs in the Wellington, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Central North Island and Southland regions.

The national average asking price for March stood at $677,746, representing a 0.3 per cent increase compared to the prior month.

“While this is a relatively small increase, it shows that although the biggest region of Auckland has seen a backwards move in asking prices, there’s been enough happening across the rest of the country to counter-balance the overall impact,” says Vanessa.

While not a record, the stand-out region in terms of a lift in average asking prices compared to the previous month was Taranaki, where asking prices rose 9.1 per cent to $437,871.

Wellington region comes alive

“A healthy injection of new listings which has significantly built the region’s total stock levels, coupled with a stable price environment, is very encouraging for home hunters who have been long-starved for choice,” says Vanessa.

The 944 fresh new listings brings the total number of homes for sale in the region to 1,286, with an average asking price of $657,788.

“It’s been traditionally a tightly held market, so breaking the mould in March was very positive for the capital,” she says.

REINZ: Number of days to sell a property has been slowly increasing in some parts of the country*

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand says: “We’ve seen this trend for a few months now where the number of days to sell a property has been slowly increasing in some areas across New Zealand. This means some people are taking their time and undertaking their due diligence before purchasing a property.

“It’s also a good time for vendors to review their pricing strategy so they can successfully sell within this type of market,” she says.

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