Houses for sale drop to new low

Fewer residential properties are for sale nationwide than at any time since 2006, according to the latest Realestate.co.nz data.

Thursday, October 1st 2015, 3:08PM

by Miriam Bell

The real estate website’s data shows there was only 30,988 properties for sale across New Zealand in September.

Realestate.co.nz CEO Brendon Skipper said that when they first started keeping records in early 2007, there were 43,000 residential properties for sale.

“We can safely assume that the current number is the fewest homes on the market in New Zealand for a much longer time, possibly a decade.”

The number of homes for sale reached its high point of 58,137 in April 2008 and it remained around the 50,000 level for the following three years.

In the years since, there has been a slow decline in the amount of stock on market to reach the present level.

Skipper said the September figure meant there was only 16.3 weeks of inventory for sale compared to the long-term average of 35 weeks.

“In our main centres, the situation is even more extreme. In Auckland, the inventory is only 9.6 weeks and in Wellington 11.1 weeks.”

However, current inventory levels across all 19 regions of New Zealand are now below their respective long-term regional averages.

Market demand, which is also pushing up prices, is fuelling the high turnover.

Skipper said the low inventory level was despite an increase in listings in most regions - especially in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty – as compared to this time last year.

“The simple truth is that these properties are now spending less time in the market, suggesting that market pressures will remain high while the current rate of turnover continues.”

Low inventory is usually associated with a sellers’ market and higher asking prices, as seen in recent months, he added.

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