REINZ Stats Defy Doom And Gloom

“Real estate is still ahead on last year which is very encouraging all things considered. Any earlier doom and gloom has yet to be delivered, with housing demand still outstripping supply,” says Derryn Mayne, Owner of Century 21 New Zealand.

Her comments follow REINZ today releasing its Monthly Property Report for May which shows median house prices across New Zealand were up by 6.9%, compared to May 2019 – with Auckland up 7.1%. However, median prices compared to April were mixed, with the country seeing an overall drop. Nonetheless 11 out of 15 regions saw monthly median price increases.

“We knew the volume of sales would be well down on May last year, but what’s really encouraging is the huge surge we saw in house sales when lockdown restrictions lessened in May – with the number of houses selling nationwide lifting nearly 200% compared to April,” she says.

The Century 21 boss says the REINZ sales results for May will surprise many people.

“Sure, some prices have slipped in recent months, but overall median house prices are still comfortably up on this time last year for both Auckland and the rest of the country. At this point in time we’ve lost a couple months, but we certainly haven’t lost a year.”

Ms Mayne says three months ago some commentators were predicting a swift and severe property crash, but the latest numbers show most regions in New Zealand are still seeing monthly increases in median price, with some even achieving record median prices.

“We all know things will change. We just don’t know to what extent. These latest numbers, however, are the first real confirmation that overall prices have yet to change dramatically,” she says.

She acknowledges one thing that has changed is the time it now takes to sell a property. The median number of days to sell a property nationally increased by 17 days from 41 to 58 when compared to May 2019.

“Vendors need to be a little more patient, but the fact that prices are still holding up well is great news for homeowners. At the same time, we’re seeing some pockets of opportunity emerge for first-home buyers boosted by record-low interest rates and lower deposit requirements,” says Derryn Mayne.

www.century21.co.nz

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