Advertisement
The Gulf conflict has disrupted global supply chains, pushed...
REITs have changed the way commercial real estate is owned a...
What does it take to preserve a real estate legacy while bui...
What really powers the cloud? Behind every Google search, A...
A lot of what defines a home isn’t visible at handover. I...
New Zealand’s housing market remained subdued in July, with house prices edging lower and sales activity weakening as buyers continued to take a cautious approach. Seasonally adjusted median house prices fell 0.5% from the previous month and were 0.6% lower than a year earlier, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ). National home sales volumes declined 10% year-on-year, while the latest REINZ data also showed that properties were taking longer to sell. The figures point to limited momentum in the residential property market despite prices remaining relatively stable.
New Zealand’s housing market recorded a modest decline in prices in July as buyer activity slowed, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ). The fall came alongside a decline in sales volumes, indicating that buyers remained cautious about committing to purchases.
Seasonally adjusted median house prices fell 0.5% from the previous month and were down 0.6% compared with the same period a year earlier. REINZ’s latest monthly snapshot put the national median price at around NZD 760,000, down 0.7% from a year earlier on the unadjusted measure.
Sales activity was weaker during the month. National home sales volumes fell 10% compared with a year earlier, with REINZ recording about 6,090 sales. The decline shows that the softer market is being reflected more clearly in transaction activity than in prices.
Properties were also taking longer to sell, another indication of slower market activity. REINZ said sales remained within a normal historical range, but the longer selling period reflected a market where buyers and sellers were taking more time before completing transactions.
The latest figures follow a period of limited movement in New Zealand’s housing market. Data earlier in the year had already pointed to weaker sales volumes and modest price changes. ANZ noted that buyers had stepped back while some sellers were also holding back from listing, helping prevent a sharper fall in prices.
June had also shown signs of softer activity, with seasonally adjusted sales volumes falling 4.3% month-on-month and the REINZ House Price Index declining 0.3%. The median time required to sell a property increased to 48 days, pointing to subdued demand and a market with relatively high levels of available housing stock.
The July figures therefore suggest that the housing market continues to move at a slow pace rather than experiencing a sharp price correction. With sales volumes falling more noticeably than prices, the immediate pressure appears to be on transaction activity, as prospective buyers remain selective and sellers take longer to find buyers.
Source PTI
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
