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- May 2011 - Market Moves into Winter Mode
- July 2011 - Market Treads Water
- April 2011 - Now is the Time - Economists
- March 2011 - Lower Interest Rates Set To Help Visi
- February 2011 - More Demand as Market Warms Up
- January 2011 - Busy Start to the Year with More Stock
- December 2010 - September 2010 Investment News
- June 2011 - Good Opportunity to Sell
- August 2011 - Housing Stock in Short Supply
- September 2011 - More Sunshine, More Stock
- October 2011 - Signs of More Market Activity
- November 2011 - More Strength in Market
- December 2011 - Is Santa Finally Coming Back
- Open Homes This Week
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November 2011 - More Strength in Market
Market Comment
The property market continues to show signs of confidence and heightened activity as compared to the past few years. And national house values have made a dramatic recovery and are just under the peak of the market in 2007, official figures show.
Wellington Snapshot
QV’s Residential Price Index for September shows that property values in the Wellington region are 0.9% lower than the same time last year. After falling for the first half of 2011, values in Wellington have picked up slightly in the last few months.
NZ Market- State of Play
Asking prices for New Zealand residential properties hit an all-time high last month, says real estate listings website Realestate.co.nz. In its monthly property report released earlier this month, the company says the average asking price for property available nationally hit $434,161 during the month, passing the previous high of $429,250 reached earlier this year in April. But while price hopes are high, the number of new properties coming onto the market for sale are low - with new listings dropping a seasonally adjusted 11% in October.
REINZ/ BNZ Residential Market Survey
Wellington and the Hutt Valley have again topped the BNZ-REINZ Residential Market Survey for investor activity, with 37.9% of real estate agents reporting investors active in the market. However, overall the survey of more than 10,000 licensed real estate agents throughout the country found investor activity muted.
Across the Ditch
Expectations that residential property prices will continue falling in Australia are having an effect on the real estate market, according to a new survey. The Commonwealth Bank/Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) home finance index has found that the ratio of people planning to buy property in the next 12 months had fallen to 16.9% in September, from 19.1% in May and 21.6% in January. The survey said buyer reluctance was reflected in price expectations, with 46.4% of respondents predicting lower house prices in the next quarter, more than double the 20.9% figure nine months ago.
Home Affordability
Home loan affordability worsened nationally in October because of a rise in median house prices, but an improving outlook for lower interest rates is boosting turnover and borrower demand. The Roost Home Loan Affordability report for October showed a slight deterioration from September, largely due to a rise in the median house price to $359,000 from $350,000.
Down on the Farm
New Zealand farm sales nearly doubled in the three months ended October 2011 compared with a year earlier, according to the Real Estate Institute of NZ (REINZ). Sales totalled 286 properties. But the median average price increased only 6.7%, to $18,878. REINZ spokesperson Brian Peacocke said nine regions recorded an increase in sales volumes, including Canterbury, Auckland and Nelson, while Manawatu and Wanganui had a 3% drop in sales.
Interest Rates
Now the Rugby World Cup is out of the way banks are starting to get very competitive with their lending offers. It’s a moot point whether the two are related, but it is what we expected to happen. However the magnitude of the first shots fired in the battle have surprised.
