Real Estate Institute Of New Zealand (REINZ) August Data Reveals Variety In The Lifestyle Property Market

Data released today by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows 79 fewer lifestyle property sales (-5.6%) for the three months ending August 2024 than for the three months ending July 2024.

Overall, there were 1,330 lifestyle property sales in the three months ending August 2024, a 2.9% increase compared to the three months ending August 2023 (1,293 sales). There were 1,409 lifestyle property sales for the three months ending July 2024.

5,669 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to August 2024, 113 (+2.0%) more than were sold in the year to August 2023. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $6.32 billion for the year to August 2024.

Shane O’Brien, Rural Spokesman at REINZ, commented on the regional dynamics: “During the month, there were 433 sales of lifestyle properties that included 80 bareland blocks. Bareland block sales have dropped compared to August 2023 (101) and August 2022 (137) as the amount of available land reduces. At the same time, many buyers are looking to buy existing properties to ensure certainty against rising building costs and lengthy build times. There were 353 Farmlet sales during the month, the same number as August 2022.”

The median price for lifestyle properties has seen a general upward trend. For all lifestyle properties, the median price reached $950,000, reflecting a 4.4% increase compared to the previous year. Farmlet Lifestyle properties had a median price of $1,045,000, up by 2.0% year-over-year. In contrast, the median price for Bare Land Lifestyle properties fell to $432,500, a decrease of 3.3% from last year.

Seven regions recorded an increase in sales compared to August 2023, with the largest increases seen in Manawatu-Whanganui (+28 sales) and Wellington (+27 sales). Otago ( -19 sales) and Taranaki ( -17 sales) recorded the biggest decreases in sales in the three months to August 2024 compared to the three months to August 2023. Three regions recorded increased sales compared to the three months to July 2024.

Nine regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase between the three months ending August 2023 and the three months ending August 2024. The most

notable examples were in West Coast (+28.0%) and Taranaki (+21.3%), with the biggest decreases being in Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman ( -14.2%) and Gisborne/Hawkes Bay ( -9.9%).

“The lifestyle market remains active, with sales numbers fluctuating monthly but the median sale process remaining relatively steady. The median for Farmlet sales across NZ was $1,060,000 in August 2024. We expect this market to continue to respond to increased buyer interest as the residential market improves across much of New Zealand in coming months,” adds O’Brien.

The median days to sell a lifestyle property increased to 90 days, up 11 days from the three months to August 2023. There were notable regional variations in selling times, with Southland having the fastest sales at just 52 days, while Auckland recorded the slowest at 104 days.

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