More higher priced homes sold in New Zealand last year

The number of properties sold around New Zealand for a million dollars or more during 2018 increased by 4.5% when compared to 2017, new figures show.

But at 10,615 this was down significantly on 2016, when 11,648 million dollar plus properties were sold around the country according to data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ).

In the Auckland market, the number of million dollar properties sold during 2018 fell by1.6% when compared to the previous year, down to 7,888 from 8,014, the lowest number of million dollar plus properties sold in Auckland for four years.

Excluding Auckland, the number of million dollar plus properties increased year on year by 26.9% at 2,727, up from 2149, the data also shows.

The region with the largest year on year increase was Marlborough which saw the number of properties sold in this sector increase by 90.9% but this amounted to an increase from 11 in 2017 to 21 properties sold in 2018, with the percentage inflated due to the small sample size.

But 13 out of 15 regions saw year on year increases in the number of properties sold for $1 million plus, with Southland remaining steady, and Auckland being the only region with a decrease.

Manawatu/Wanganui recorded an increase of 83.3%, up from 12 to 22 properties, Northland an increase of 62.3% from 69 to 112 properties, Gisborne up 50% from four to six and Nelson up 45.7% from 35 to 51.

Canterbury was one of two regions with an annual rise in the number of properties sold for $3 million plus in 2018, increasing 140%, some12 properties sold, up from five in 2017 while Wellington was the only other region with an increase, going from five to sex properties.

Wellington was the only region to see an increase in the number of properties sold in excess of $5 million from none in 2017 to one in 2018 and all other regions remained on par with the numbers sold in 2017 or decreased in volume.

Across the country, 71 properties were sold in the $5 million plus category of which 63 in were Auckland, five in Otago, one in Bay of Plenty, one in Canterbury and one in Wellington.