MARKET UPDATE:
‘This is a bonafide
buyers’s market’
There is no sign of a looming property crash and New Zealand is now a “bona fide buyers’ market”, property experts say. New data from property listings website realestate.co.nz suggests the country has settled into a new, more stabilised normal, resulting in a buyers’ market. The number of properties on the market has been steadily increasing since mid2021, from 12,684 at the end of July last year to 26,358 at the end of July this year, the data from realestate.co.nz shows. In Auckland, buyers’ options had increased, with 82.9% more listings in the region year-on-year. Vanessa Williams, a spokesperson for realestate.co.nz, says the stock increases are in stark contrast to the record lows Kiwis witnessed only a year ago. “Throughout 2021, we saw record-low housing stock month after month, which would have created challenges for buyers and increased urgency in the market. “But for the last few months, New Zealand has experienced housing stock levels not seen since 2019. This has created a stable and less urgent environment for buyers - giving them time to think about their purchase, their offer, and arranging the necessary inspections.” She says the market had shifted. In addition to a rise in housing stock, there had been a “record number of consents from councils to build new homes”, resulting in “buyer FOMO (fear of missing out) decreasing”. However, she says the market is “merely flattening” and “there are no signs of a ‘bubble burst’ on the horizon”. “Because the market surprised us in 2020 and 2021 with record low stock and record high asking prices, perhaps we’re expecting the surprises to keep coming. For instance, some reports are suggesting the market is swinging from extreme to extreme. But our data does not reflect that,” she says. Realestate.co.nz data shows the national average asking price is now $942,961, up 4.2% compared to July 2021. This number has been steadily cooling since January this year.
50
THE BLACK BOOK.
“The scales have tipped; buyers now have the edge.”
