Buyers appear likely to retain the upper hand as the housing market heads into spring, with the amount of stock for sale at a 10 year high.
The latest figures from property website Realestate.co.nz show it had a total of 29,579 residential properties available for sale on the website at the end of August. That's a 10 year high for the month of August, and was up 30% compared to August last year.
However new listings were flat, with 8048 received by the website in August, almost unchanged from the 8080 received in July, but up 8.1% compared to August last year.
Pricing signals were a bit mixed, with the seasonally adjusted average asking price dropping to $844,595 in August from $848,854 in July.
The seasonally adjusted average asking price has now declined by more than $51,000 from it's summer peak of $895,883 set in February.
However the non-seasonally adjusted average asking price perked up a bit in August, rising to $826,195 from $816,797 in July. However, that's still down by $101,117 from its summer peak of $927,312 in February.
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31 Comments
I think first time buyer owner occupiers having the upper hand is fantastic news. From an investment perspective, if well healed, the seasoned investor will inherently have a long term view and be unperturbed. They understand the market sometimes corrects and any paper losses only become realized if they sell. Why some resident Spruikers get so wound up and negative by this fact can only be narrowed down to unrealistic expectations to begin with. Homes are for living in and not speculating on for capital gains.
May this adjustment be complete in whatever form it plays out.
While many are watching the property market, thinking of a skyrocket like back in 2021, it is worth keeping an eye on what RBNZ is up to. They are setting up a depositor compensation scheme by mid-2025, capping coverage at $100K per depositor per bank. Back in 2008, after the financial hit, they fully covered losses for depositors at nine failing institutions, handing out ~$2 billion to 42K depositors. This time, the coverage has a limit.
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/deposi…(DCS,out%20funds%20to%20eligible%20depositors.
What is the Depositor Compensation Scheme?
The Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) is set to launch in mid-2025, safeguarding each depositor up to $100,000 per licensed deposit taker in case of a deposit taker failure. If it is necessary for the DCS to be triggered, the DCS will pay out funds to eligible depositors. The DCS fund can also be used to fund the resolution of a failed deposit taker within limits defined in the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (the Act). Resolution is chosen when deemed necessary for a deposit taker to avoid the standard insolvency process due to the risk of loss of critical functions, broader contagion, and financial stability. The DCS will contribute to financial stability by assuring depositors of quick access to their funds if a deposit taker fails.
Waikato leading the total stock compared with Aug 2023 with +71.8%.
I've always thought that region was the most stubborn one in NZ, especially when it comes to money. My typical case is you will never make a seller understand their car is not worth the asking price and that a 1h15 drive to Auckland is all you need to save thousands.
Kind of fake news really, total listings in Tauranga are actually down from the peak. It appears the news is all one way traffic and doesn't report when listings fall, only when they rise. Houses still selling down here no problems, one in my road just sold in a few weeks.
My feeling is that Auckland is looking worse than Wellington - even if these figures don't reflect it. One factor is that Auckland has about 3,600 new homes listed on trademe - and commonly the developer lists one home when they have ten. So if each of those lsitings represent 2 homes (conservatively) then there is a further 3-4,000 homes on top of the 12,000 listed. In addition, new homes are additional supply - rather than one household buying and selling in the market.
Bizzare how we get a small reduction in the motgage interest rates (but still high compared to what we are use to) and RE agents and mortgage brokers are talking things up as if the bottom has been reached. Except they are wrong
Reminds me of the brief optimism there was in Feb Mar before it all fell away as the weak fundamentals kicked in - eg right now the number of listings is huge
Just need to look at what happened in the States over summer - despite mortgage rate cuts, sales still dropped
https://wolfstreet.com/2024/08/29/buyers-strike-deepens-pending-home-sa…
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