Turnover down again in REINZ stats

Turnover continued to drop in August, the latest Real Estate Institute statistics reveal.

Friday, September 12th 2014, 12:00AM

by The Landlord

The 5481 homes sold last month was down 16.3% on the same time in 2013 and down 7% from July.

The national median price increased $30,000 on the year before, to $420,000.

REINZ chief executive Helen O’Sullivan said: “The real estate market appears to be ‘idling’ as buyers and perhaps even more so, sellers, await the outcome of the September 20 election. Sales volumes are 7% down from July 2014, and are 16.3% down on 2013 levels. The upcoming election is not the only factor however, as this is the tenth consecutive month of sales volumes being below the prior year’s levels.”

She said LVR restrictions were still being cited as a significant factor but a lack of listings was also an issue in most parts of the country as low stock levels restricted buyer choice.

“All eyes are on listing numbers which would normally be increasing at this time of year, but which may be impacted by the timing of the general election. Prices are relatively steady with the median price rising by 1% from July, and year on year price increase now at 7.7%. Auckland and Canterbury remain the dominant contributors to the increase in the national median price, with regions outside of these two areas representing just 14% of the increase. Price-wise the residential housing market remains a tale of two cities and the rest of the country, although the volume decline is now apparent in all areas.”

Only two regions – Taranaki and Central Otago Lakes – reported more sales in August than in July.

Compared to August 2013 all 12 regions recorded a decrease in sales volume with Otago recording the largest fall of 27.5%, followed by Hawkes Bay with a fall of 22.6% and Northland with a fall of 21.1%.

While the total number of sales was down 16.3% compared to August 2013, the number of sales below $400,000 fell by 24.8%. This follows a fall in sales below $400,000 of 21.8% between July 2013 and July 2014. This may be indicative of fewer sales in the lower price brackets since the imposition of the LVR restrictions.

Seventy per cent of the increase in the national median price compared to August 2013 occurred in Auckland.

Central Otago Lakes recorded the largest increase in median price compared to August 2013, with a 10.5% increase, followed by Southland with a 9.8% increase and Canterbury/Westland with a 9.6% increase. Compared to July, Southland recorded the largest increase in median price, up 16.9%, followed by Hawkes Bay with 9.3% and Northland with 5.5%.

The REINZ Stratified Housing Price Index, which adjusts for some of the variations in the mix that can impact on the median price, is 4.8% higher than August 2013, at 3926.5. The Auckland Index has risen 5.8% compared to August 2013, with the Christchurch Index up 11.0% and the Wellington Index up 2.8%.

Dwellings took one day longer to sell in August compared to July at 38 days.

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