February Sees Stock Levels Lifting To Normal – C21NZ

“While new listings may be down, not helped by the weather disasters, overall stock levels nationwide are returning to more normal levels. More houses for sale thankfully means more choice for buyers,” says Tim Kearins, Owner of Century 21 New Zealand.

Mr Kearins’ comments follow REINZ releasing its Monthly Property Report for February – a month which saw median prices across New Zealand decrease by 13.9% year-on-year to $762,000. However, when comparing to January, the median sale price increased across most of the regions. Auckland saw a seven percent increase, tipping back over the $1 million price point.

REINZ reported: ‘The impact of ongoing economic headwinds and Cyclone Gabrielle is reflected in the numbers, but some data in the housing market returns to ‘normal’ amidst a big clean-up job across the upper north and eastern North Island.’

“Rising interest rates, cost of living increases and the ongoing struggle to secure finance continue to hamper the market. Thankfully in recent weeks, many of our offices and agents are reporting more enquiries and more activity at the likes of open homes and auctions.

“Plenty of good properties are still making good money. Nonetheless, overall, the market remains pretty quiet,” says Mr Kearins.

While the number of residential property sales across New Zealand eased annually, month-on-month statistics showed a good increase of property sales transacted for February.

“A bump in sales in February is to be expected, but increasingly, vendors seem keen to meet the market. They know that it will be a tough winter with a possible recession later this year and consumer and business confidence worryingly low,” he says.

Median days to sell is now at 60 — up 18 days from February 2022 and up six days when compared to the previous month, January.

“Buyers are cautious and so it’s not surprising that it’s taking longer to sell properties. However, the good news is we are seeing some stabilization.

“We can take some small comfort in the fact that most regions have seen an increase in median sales prices in the past month, including Auckland despite the impact of the weather events,” says Tim Kearins.

www.century21.co.nz

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