House sales lowest in two decades
Just 3,666 houses sold nationwide for the month of January, only the second month in 20 years that total units sold have fallen below 4,000, January last year being the other occasion.
However, "house prices seem to be holding nicely at the moment", said REINZ president Peter McDonald, with the national median price for the month of $350,000 up 7.7% on the same month last year, albeit down 10% on sales in December.
Looming change to the way investment properties are taxed was a key factor, ASB economist Jane Turner said.
While both a land tax and a comprehensive capital gains tax had been ruled out by the government this week, other options including disallowing depreciation deductions and ring-fencing of investment property losses were still likely.
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