Pre-election jitters seem to have hit New Zealand’s property market as September saw lowest new listings for any September on record in nine of our 19 regions as Kiwis face increasing interest rates and the looming election. In Waikato, there was a drop of 2%, with only 598 listings.
The latest data from realestate.co.nz of New Zealand property market shows the national average asking price stayed flat during September and it appears that the property market is also waiting for the result.
The nine regions that saw the lowest new listing numbers last month are: Waikato, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Otago, Southland, Central Otago/Lakes District, Wairarapa, and Manawatu/ Whanganui.
Vanessa Williams, spokesperson for realestate.co.nz suspects that the combination of high interest rates and the election is behind lower-than-expected new listings. She says it is typical for Kiwis to hold off on making significant financial decisions in the face of uncertainty.
“We see it all the time that Kiwis hold off on making big decisions ahead of an election while they wait to see who comes into government and how expected policies might impact them.”
“What’s interesting this year is we are seeing a softer start to spring than expected. The election, suspected post-election Reserve Bank movements, and interest rate rises appear to be dampening the influx of listings that warmer weather usually brings to market.”
Despite new listings being down last month in most regions, year-on-year growth was seen in Marlborough (up 3.3%), Auckland (up 6.6%), Central North Island (up 9.6%), and Nelson & Bays (up 14.0%).
The national average asking price stayed flat last month at $871,400, down just 0.1% month-on-month. In the main centres, Auckland (up 0.4%), Wellington (down 0.4%) and Canterbury (down 1.6%) also saw average asking prices remain relatively flat compared to last month.
Compared to September last year, average asking prices were down 5.3% nationally and by varying degrees in most regions.
Bucking the trend was the West Coast, which saw average asking prices increase by 21.2% year-on-year. Central Otago/Lakes also saw its average asking price increase by 2.3% year-on-year.Read More...
– from NewsViews
