The September Trade Me Property Price Index shows that New Zealand house prices fell another 0.3% over the month – its sixth consecutive monthly decline – with asking prices nationally falling back to October 2021 levels:
Asking prices fall back to October 2021 levels.
The ongoing decline in New Zealand house prices came on the back of soaring supply, with the number of properties listed for sale Trade Me jumping by 67%. In turn, last month saw “more properties for sale than in any other September on record”.
At the same time, buyer demand remained soft with nationwide listing views falling by 1% in September.
Commenting on the results, Trade Me Property Sales Director Gavin Lloyd expects prices to continue falling:
“While September’s month-on-month price drop was smaller than what we saw in previous months, the consistent decline says a lot about what’s happening in the market…”
“Last month we saw more properties for sale than in any other September on record…”
”Current market conditions are going to make for an interesting Summer period. We have already seen month-on-month price drops slowing down in September, which may continue into the next few months as seasonal demand picks up.”
House price results from other data providers were more bearish.
Quotable Value recorded a 5.4% decline in average New Zealand dwelling values over the September quarter to be down 9.2% this calendar year.
CoreLogic recorded a 1.5% fall in national dwelling values in September and a 4.1% decline over the quarter.
Finally, the REINZ recorded a 0.7% decline in median dwelling values over September to be down 3.3% over the quarter and by 12.6% from their November 2021 peak.
Last week’s inflation shocker saw CPI rise by 7.2% in the year to September, which was much higher than any market forecast. It is expected to be met with further aggressive rate hikes from the Reserve Bank.
In turn, New Zealand mortgage rates will drift higher, which should place further downward pressure on house prices.
After recording on the world’s biggest house price booms over the pandemic, New Zealand now faces one of the largest price busts.
