Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, September 25, 2023
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) August 2023 figures show continued optimism and further activity in the property market. While listing numbers remain light, they are up in July and sales counts have increased, showing some late winter confidence.
REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird said that August often shows a resurgence of activity as Spring approaches. “We saw steady activity this month with increased sales counts both compared to August 2022 and last month. This lift in market activity has also seen the median days to sell decrease this month.”
“Higher interest rates and ongoing cost of living pressures continue to impact the market ahead of the looming election. There is a sense across the country that the market has seen the bottom both in terms of prices and sales volumes, but we are all waiting to see how long it will take to see growth re-emerge,” said Ms Baird.
Hamilton house prices back on track
House prices across the Waikato may have bottomed as the median price climbed 1.5% month-on-month, according to the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data.
The REINZ August report found that while the median price across the Waikato was 5.6% lower than August 2022, month-on-month the Waikato median had risen from $725,000 to $736,000.
According to REINZ Waikato regional director Neville Falconer, “Overall it indicates prices are probably as low as they will get”, though Falconer was careful to note the market moves in cycles.
He also said it was “not uncommon” for Waikato prices to follow Auckland’s lead – and the City of Sails saw a 2% month-on-month rise in August.
First Home buyer’s most active group
Mr Falconer also said the present market was underpinned by immigration into New Zealand, which was revealed at the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update to have risen to record highs.
He also said that despite rising prices, it is not all doom and gloom for first-time buyers.
“First-time buyers have had good opportunities over the last months, prices are not going up quickly, but they will not drop.”
According to REINZ chief Jen Baird, across the Waikato first home buyers and owner occupiers “were the most active buyer groups”.
Waitomo District saw the largest month-on-month rise of the six regions to see prices climb, up 19.1% from $335,000 to $399,000. Across the other regions, prices were up 6.7% in Hauraki District, 1.5% in Matamata-Piako District, 4.2% in South Waikato District, 1.3% in Waikato District and 3% in Waipa District.
Sales across the whole Waikato region also climbed month-on-month, from 469 in July to 551 in August – upon the earlier year figure of 474 sales.
Harcourts Salesperson from Hamilton, Arjun Mahajan said, “Buyers movement has been promising across all segments recently. We are witnessing a growing footfall at open homes and first-home buyers are showing confidence in the market, which is a good starting point for the Hamilton market. With vendors looking at the market projections pragmatically, it is a good time to get your offers on paper and start the negotiations without any delays if you want to be in a position of advantage.”
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
