Regional centres suffering: Harcourts

Provincial New Zealand is suffering under the loan-to-value restrictions, Harcourts says.

Tuesday, June 17th 2014, 12:00AM

by The Landlord

The real estate agency has released its statistics for June, which show sales numbers dropping in the regional centres and prices rising. It said this was a sign that the LVR restrictions were affecting entry-level buyers.

Chief executive Hayden Duncan said: “Harcourts has long said LVR restrictions would not have the intended affect in Auckland and Christchurch, two markets driven by low supply of housing and high demand. The provinces have borne the brunt of the restrictions, which have prevented first home buyers from achieving home ownership.”

He said Auckland had enough housing stock to last 3.5 months at the current pace of sales. In Christchurch, it would last 4.6 months. “This highlights how limited the pool of housing is in these two cities, with well-priced properties sold quickly.”

The agency’s northern region, which includes Auckland and Northland, reported 1% more new listings in May compared to the year before and 2.5% more auction and tender listings. There was 25.1% more property on hand in May this year compared to the same time the yerar before, but 6.7% fewer sales. The average price for the region was up 12%, to $696,047.

The central region reported a drop of 3.8% in new listings, and a fall of 6.7% in property on hand. Written sales were up 2.3% in May compared to May 2013, and the average price rose 13% year-on-year, to $341,488.

In Wellington, new listings were down 17.8%, property on hand was down 2.1% and written sales fell 15.3%. The average price rose only 5% over the year, to $377,656.

Christchurch metro had 9.1% more listings, 19.6% more property on hand but 15.8% fewer sales in May, compared to the year before. Its average price was up 19%, to $508,759.

The rest of the South Island was a very different story. Total new listings were down 16.8%, property on hand was down 8.2%, written sales dropped 21.9% compared to 2013 and the average price fell 20% to $259,053.

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