REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird says with the combination of high listing numbers, elevated stock and shifts in the median sale price we are seeing increased activity.
“There was a substantial rise in listings nationally, indicating heightened activity in the housing market. New Zealand’s stock levels saw a year-on-year increase, resulting in a growing inventory of available properties for sale. Coupled with median sale price growth in some regions, agents are seeing more investors and first-home buyers out there at open homes.
“In the regions, there is an increase in property investment and certain sales volume numbers are reflecting that. Although still below the average February sales count of 60 (2015-2022), Gisborne particularly stands out with remarkable increases in this month’s data. This surge in sales activity suggests strong demand from buyers post the devastating effects of Cyclone Hale and Gabrielle this time in early 2023.”The total number of properties sold increased in February (+81.8%) compared to January 2024 for New Zealand from 3,132 to 5,693 and from 4,129 to 5,693 (+37.9%). Gisborne has seen a large increase in the properties sold up 264% year on year and up year on year by +82.1%.
All regions except for the West Coast saw an increase in activity this month. In 14 of 16 regions, the sales count year- on-year has increased by more than 20%. The exceptions were West Coast (-22.0%) and Taranaki (+7.5%). The Marlborough sales count more than doubled compared to February 2023 (from 37 to 77 sales). New Zealand’s inventory levels have increased by 8.1% from 29,083 to 31,424 properties year on year. The national median sale price has increased by 3.1% from $766,000 to $790,000 year-on-year. There was also an increase of +3.9% from January 2024 $760,000 to $790,000. New Zealand, excluding Auckland, also increased month-on- month, +3.6% from $685,000 to $710,000 and up year-on-year by 2.6% from $692,000 to $710,000.
Auckland’s median sale price has bumped back up over the $1 million mark $1,025,000 in line with the last few years where the month of February also sat over $1 million. Listings increased by 60.4% from 7,347 to 11,788 nationally month on month and by 44.8% from 8,143 to 11,788 year on year. North Island regions also saw large month-on-month increases with Northland up 247 listings (+94.6%), Wellington up 402 listings (+76.6%), Hawke’s Bay up 141 listings (+75.4%) and Auckland up 1,764 listings (+64.0%).
The median days to sell increased by 1 day month-on-month from 50 up to 51 days and reduced 9 days year-on-year, down from 60 to 51. Northland down 10 days and Wellington down 8 days showed the biggest decreases since February 2023.
“We are looking at the back of the government’s 100-day plan and the changes to the bright line test back to two years and the latest reintroduction of interest deductibility on investment properties for landlords. With a significant increase in property listings, the rise in the total number of properties sold, and an increase in the median sale price, some buyers are holding out for the ‘right’ property while others are getting ‘into the market’ before competition rises as investors return. This buoyancy is a positive sign that we haven’t seen for a while,” adds Baird.
For the first time in a long time, there was a new record high set in the regional HPI this month. Otago saw a sizeable monthly increase in HPI pushing over the prior peak set in December 2021. Otago also ranked first in the HPI movements for 1 month (3.0%), 3 months (3.0%) and 12 months (+8.2%). The HPI for New Zealand, stood at 3,700 in February 2024, a 1.1% increase compared to the previous month and a 3.2% increase for the same period last year. The average annual growth in the New Zealand HPI over the past five years has been 5.9% per annum, and it is currently 13.5% below the peak of the market reached in 2021.
Source: The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has the latest and most accurate real estate data in New Zealand.
For full report visit REINZ’s website.