Articles by Victoria Day

The impact of this Lockdown has been an increase in the rate of property value growth and as before this is in the main due to a reduced number of properties available for sale and our appetite for homes which has been putting extra upward pressure on their values. Demand has continued and confidence has remained firm in the market - although there are some expectations that there will be a slower rate of growth in the future- a downturn seems…

We all have our fingers crossed that life will return to a new normal whatever that looks like but there is nothing normal about the housing market as it just keeps on rolling! Lockdown or no lockdown the statistics speak for themselves. The momentum for Franklin for the month of August showed to be true with the Median price for Franklin rising to $950,000 up by 33.8% on a year ago when the median sat at $750,000 with 88 sales for the month. …

The numbers of inquiries about property listings have surged over the course of this lockdown and signalling a big increase in interest. It has been stronger this level 4 lockdown than in the level 4 lockdown of last year and despite being in level 4 neither buyer nor sellers have been deterred. Confidence has remained in the market, and many people are more optimistic this time around than they were the last time with the effect it may have…

Whilst the official cash rate remains unchanged at least for now there are predications that the expected increase forecasted for the end of 2022 may have to be bought forward. This is a tricky balancing act for the RBNZ, in trying to pre-empt a rise in inflation without pushing up the exchange rate too much (and hence dampening exports). This directly affects the housing market, with borrowers already seeing mortgage rates increase – and from…

The Auckland housing sales data for the month of May is showing no hint that the restrictions introduced in March are having any impact on the prices or sales volume. The median house price for Auckland for the period rose over the record achieved in April 2021 and the highest May on record for 4 years. The Auckland median price of $1,073,000 was up 2.2% from April which rose 3.1% and 17.4% from the previous May. The median house price 12…

Accepting the fact that April last year was our great lockdown, April was the strongest it has been for 5 years. Inventory levels continue to fall and whilst adjusted for the seasonal norm of the autumn/winter period they still continue to place still more pressure on the housing market. Low supply and high demand holds prices! There have been less investors in the market for April but this could be as a result of the LVR restrictions which…

March 2021 was a month of firsts! But quite a mixed bag and the effects of some have yet to be seen in the market: Median days to sell the lowest for a March since records began. Inventory levels continue to fall, placing pressure on the housing market, decreasing 6.1% in March 2021 from March 2020 levels – in total that is 1265 fewer properties available to the market and 8791 fewer than March 2019 [national data] More than 1/3 selling by…

As we recently marked a year since the first Covid-19 case was reported in New Zealand, latest figures from realestate.co.nz suggest that despite the many challenges of the pandemic, Kiwis’ appetite for property hasn’t diminished. Resilient housing market shows 12.7% year-on-year price growth. The housing market has performed in a way that few people would have expected 12 months ago. Economists were predicting a 5 – 10% drop in house prices,…

While New Zealanders were on holiday sunning themselves the housing market was hard at work. The housing market has delivered a scorching January amid what economists say is the biggest housing boom in 17 years. In 12 months the country’s median house price has jumped 19 percent to $730,000, with four regions cracking new records - The Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki and Nelson. But year on year, it was Wellington with the biggest boom –…

Property Investors are the dominant buyer group in the market with data just being released for December 2020 which shows they have been making the biggest share of purchases. Buyers using cash accounted for 12% of the multiple property buyers and a further 27% are using multiple properties to leverage equity through – in total 39% of the market are investors. This is not the first time this has happened – it occurred in 2016 just before The…