New Zealand’s Real Estate Institute figures have revealed that the median house price in Auckland has risen by just 2.5%, while the rest of the country has grown 11.4%.
The figures have come as something of a surprise since Auckland led the house boom – in July 2015 its property prices were increasing at a rate of 27.1%.
Sales volumes across New Zealand have also continued to decline – in Auckland they are down 33.2% for the year to June, while throughout the rest of the country they are down 24.7% for the same period.
“We know that it’s winter and the election is just two months away now which typically impacts the number of properties sold in the market,” commented Bindi Norwell, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute. “The number of properties sold across the country is the lowest we’ve seen in the month of June for three years now – particularly in the $500,000-and-under property price bracket.”
Loan-to-value restrictions and interest rate rises have been cited as the cause for the slowdown in Auckland but, despite the deceleration, the city has still managed to report an annual growth of over 7%.
“The average asking price is still up 7.1 per cent on this time last year, but the rate of increase is down from 12 per cent at the start of the year,” commented Nigel Jeffries, head of Trade Me Property. “It means the significant capital gains of recent years are slowing down but if you’re looking to buy it will be welcome news that the deposit you require isn’t surging at the insane rates we’ve been seeing.”
