Glut of property for sale in New Zealand has not resulted in a drop in asking prices

The average asking price in June rose slightly by $2,709 to $410,058, despite inventory levels of unsold houses remaining high at 45.3 weeks, a drop of only 1.7 weeks from the month before, the latest monthly NZ Property Report shows.
 
But while the market appeared to be relatively flat, the numbers showed that metropolitan areas were more active than provincial New Zealand, said Alistair Helm, Realestate.co.nz chief executive.
 
Inventory fell more in the three largest cities than the national average, while the number of new listings dropped 11 per cent compared to five per cent nationwide.
   
Wellington led the way with new listings down 18%. But in provincial areas listings increased by 1% and inventory levels are remaining high.
 
Overall listings are up 16% in June compared with the same month last year. ‘At that time in June 2009 the market was experiencing a listings’ shortage as well financed buyers where negotiating hard with sellers keen to off load their property as property prices had fallen through late 2008 and early 2009, and uncertainty surrounded the future direction of pricing in a market so accustomed to property price appreciation,’ the report says.
 
As compared to a year ago the May 2009 the price was up marginally by 1.7%.  However, the truncated mean price for the month of June is still 4.4% below the peak of the market back in October 2007.
 
The reports also shows that the volume of new listings coming onto the market fell again in June to 11,106, down 5% from May, however when the expected winter slow down is factored in with a seasonally adjusted factor the true state of the new listings market shows a 5% increase.
 
Over the 12 months to June 2010 a total of 145,920 new listings came onto the market. This was up 8% on the same 12 months to June 2009.
 
The level of unsold houses on the market at the end of June totaled 51,916 barely changed from the May total. This represented the equivalent of 45.3 weeks, as assessed on a seasonally adjusted basis.
 
The inventory levels are beginning to fall having risen to their peak in April at 51.6 weeks of equivalent sales.
 
The asking price expectation of sellers in June reflected the current state of the market with only a marginal change following the fall in May. Across the country the main view is that asking price expectation is coming under pressure with 11 of the 19 regions reporting asking prices which are below the recent three month average. The main metropolitan regions of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury all showed an easing of asking price. There was a notable and significant increase in asking price in the Queenstown Lakes region from $523,760 to $642,710 coupled with a 29% increase in new listings.