REINZ key market update | facts and figures

One of the key advantages of being a member of our national organisation, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand(REINZ) is access to the market information that they collate monthly and disseminate to members. Each month REINZ provides an overview of the entire country’s sales for the previous month and provides us with market knowledge that can only be gathered from up-to-date facts and figures. Members provide the REINZ with their individual monthly sales data, which covers nearly every real estate office in the country, enabling the institute to rightly claim to be the source of the most complete and accurate real estate data in New Zealand. The REINZ press release of 14^th July offered some pertinent comments on the status of the market and we repeat them below in abbreviated form as we feel this information will be of interest to homeowners and to potential home buyers and sellers. To quote:

House prices have continued to surpass predictions for how they would perform post-COVID with median house prices across New Zealand increasing by 9.2% in June to $639,000, up from $585,000 in June 2019 and up from $620,000 (3.1%) in May 2020.
June marks 105 months in a row of year-on-year median price increases for the country.
Earlier this year, there were a number of predictions that house prices would fall post-COVID. However, we are yet to see evidence of that happening with every region in the country seeing an uplift from the same time last year and 10 out of 16 regions seeing uplift from May.
With wage subsidies and mortgage holidays still firmly in place and demand for good property exceeding supply, we wouldn’t be so bold as to say there won’t be an easing of pricing in the coming months when these support mechanisms come to an end. But right now, Kiwi’s love affair with property continues unabated, especially with the low interest rates we currently have in the market.
The number of properties sold in June across New Zealand increased by 7.1% from the same time last year (from 6,184 to 6,625). This was the highest number of properties sold in a June month for 4 years. This suggests that the impact of the lockdown is now well and truly behind the country and people have been able to get on with their sales and purchasing decisions as per usual.
With thousands of New Zealanders returning home as a result of New Zealand’s limited cases of COVID-19 many of these individuals are looking to purchase property for their families to live in which is also likely to have bolstered June’s sales volumes.
With a 19.7% increase in new listings in June – the highest for the month of June in 4 years, hopefully, this will lead to more choice for buyers in the coming months.
Auctions were used in 11.1% of all sales across the country in June, with 733 properties selling under the hammer; up from the same time last year when 618 properties were sold via auction indicating a return to a more normal level of auctions after a few months of restrictions.
Price Bands. June sales revealed there were 2041 sales transacted under $500,000. 2,141 sales between $500,000 and $750,000 and 1191 sales sold for $1 million or above.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive of REINZ, does, however, offer one word of caution in saying, “We’ve said it before and it’s important to say it again, that June’s results may well be a post-lockdown peak in activity levels. There are concerns that with the wage subsidies and mortgage holidays ending and an election in September, there may be a potential trough in activity levels in the coming months.”

Like most other real estate agencies, Tommy’s would like to have more property to sell to meet the strong demand evident in the market place. The combination of first-home buyers, Kiwis returning from overseas and investment buyers seeking better returns for their investment funds is creating strong competition and making the winter months a good time to sell. Tommy’s is advertising extensively on radio seeking new listings to meet this demand and we invite potential buyers to register with us so that you can be updated on new listings as they come to hand. For those selling, our combination of experience, sound marketing advice and a reputation for success built up over 21 years makes Tommy’s first choice for many Wellington homeowners. We invite you to join these people for obligation free sales guidance before marketing your property.