Median sale price down over 12% year on year in December 2022, with nearly 14% fall in the house price index proper – not good for the Australian owned banks but some relief for aspiring homeowners in New Zealand. REINZ has more.
REINZ Chief Executive, Jen Baird says prices continue to ease but the pace of the decline is slower, and the market has settled at its new pace.
“Buyer caution is evident in the drop in count of sales, down 23.6% month-on-month and down 39.0% annually from December 2021. Comparing this activity to the long-term trend, we can see the current market is weaker than this trend. This is leaving a lot of choice for buyers with a 55.3% increase in inventory – now sitting at 26,057 properties.
“With interest rates rising and banks stress testing at 8.1-8.5%, buyers’ ability to secure finance and service a mortgage remains a key driver to buyers taking their time. As a result, properties are spending longer on the market with 40 being the median days to sell, 11 days longer compared to December 2021.”
“The median sale price has decreased nationally by 12.2% overall to $790,000 and decreased 7.9% for New Zealand excluding Auckland to $700,000. The REINZ House Price Index (HPI) showed an annual decrease of 13.7% in the value of residential property nationwide which is in line with the sale price changes we are seeing.”
Still may have further to go if the RBNZ has its way in February, with another 50bps rise forecast:
