The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has released new figures showing that 2020 started with a bang, seeing the busiest January in four years. Excluding Auckland, there was a 0.9% increase in the number of properties sold in New Zealand this January, compared to the same time last year. In Auckland alone, the volume of properties sold increased by a massive 9.7%, a surprising statistic given January is usually a quiet time of the year for the property market.
The amount of properties sold wasn’t the only number surging at the start of 2020. There was also an 11.8% rise in median house prices across New Zealand, jumping from $550,000 in January 2019 to $615,000 in January 2020. These increases aren’t limited to Auckland and Wellington either. Nearly every region across New Zealand showed higher asking prices in January this year with Southland, Marlborough, Nelson/Tasman, Gisborne, Manawatu/Whanganui, West Coast and Bay of Plenty all hitting new highs.
The considerable growth in housing prices is largely fuelled by the increase in buyers in the property market. Head of TradeMe Property, Nigel Jeffries, spoke of a ‘6 per cent jump in the number of views on properties for sale compared to last January, while stock was down 22 per cent on the year prior.’ What’s sparking the growing number of buyers? Bindi Norwell, chief executive at REINZ, sees ‘a relatively strong economy, good employment rates and the low interest rate environment,’ as the main contributors. All in all, with such high demand, low stock and rising numbers across the board, the market is irrefutably a seller’s market at present.
