Busiest January in four years sees strong start to new decade, says REINZ

The number of properties sold in January across New Zealand was up 3.2% on the same time last year (from 4,459 to 4,603) making it the busiest January in 4 years according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), source of the most complete and accurate real estate data in New Zealand.

For New Zealand excluding Auckland, the number of properties sold increased by 0.9% when compared to the same time last year (from 3,279 to 3,308) – also the highest for the month of January in 4 years.

In Auckland, the number of properties sold in January increased by 9.7% year-on-year (from 1,180 to 1,295) – the highest number of residential properties sold in the month of January since January 2016.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “Normally January is a quiet time of the year, and for a few regions that was definitely the case, however, overall the country had a strong start to the year with the most residential properties sold for the month of January in four years.

“Much of the increase in sales volumes is being driven by increasing confidence in the housing market which has been underpinned by a relatively strong economy, good employment rates and the low interest rate environment,” continues Norwell.

“Sales in Auckland were the highest for the month of January in four years, with particularly strong uplifts in sales volumes in North Shore City (+29.0%), Waitakere City (+28.6%) and Rodney District (+21.1%),” points out Norwell.

Record median prices continue in middle of North Island and bottom of the South Island

Median house prices across New Zealand increased by 11.8% in January to $615,000 up from $550,000 in January 2019 and 7 regions saw new record median prices – the highest number in 2 months.

In Auckland, median house prices increased by 8.7% to $875,000 – up from $805,000 at the same time last year. These results are in line with the REINZ House Price Index (HPI) which saw property values in Auckland increase 4.4% annually.

“This time last year, only the Auckland region had a median price over the $600,000 mark and now the Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Tasman and Nelson regions all have median prices at or over that figure. If things continue in the same manner, before long we wouldn’t be surprised if the Waikato, Otago and potentially Hawke’s Bay regions also have median prices over the $600,000 mark,” points out Norwell.

“Looking at Auckland, North Shore City has the highest median price for residential property at $1,101,000, followed by Auckland City on $935,000 and Rodney District close behind with a median of $927,000, Waitakere City also saw a record median of $830,000.

REINZ House Price Index (HPI) reaches new record high for NZ and 7 regions

The REINZ House Price Index for New Zealand, which measures the changing value of property in the market, increased 7.0% year-on-year to 2,922 – a new record high.

The Auckland HPI increased by 4.4% year-on-year to 2,918 – the highest annual percentage increase in 33 months. It’s also the third positive annual increase in a row after 13 months of negative results.

Days to Sell lowest for month of January in 3 years

In January the median number of days to sell a property nationally decreased by 6 days from 48 to 42 when compared to January 2019 – the lowest days to sell for the month of January in 3 years.

Auckland saw the median number of days to sell a property fall by 8 days from 51 to 43 year-on-year – the lowest days to sell for the month of January in 3 years.

Inventory The total number of properties available for sale nationally decreased by -21.7% in January to 19,488 down from 24,878 in January 2019 – a decrease of 5,390 properties compared to 12 months ago and the lowest level of inventory for the month of January in since records began.

(All information and content in this article is courtesy the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ))