Watch on our video page here. Watch video on YouTube here. Bernard Hickey delivers another housing report in association with BNZ, including new REINZ figures showing the raw median house price rose to a record NZ$360,000 in December from NZ$355,000 in November. This median is up 9.6% from a year ago, but is the market really that strong? The REINZ's stratified measure of house prices shows that prices fell 0.9% in December and are still 3.8% below their peak. More pricey sales going through at the top end are skewing that raw figure upwards. About 42% of the sales in December were above NZ$400,000, while near the peak of the boom that number was closer to 35%. That suggests many of the deals are being done by existing home owners with plenty of equity who are borrowing less. That matches with the low growth in lending by banks. Section prices also remain weak, suggesting the speculative fervor is not there. They fell 3.8% in December and remain 18% below their peak in the stratified measure.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.