Nationally asking prices are now hovering close to all time highs and are particularly strong in the major cities, according to the March 2011 NZ Property Report.
Auckland at $551,720 is up 1% as compared to the previous month and year on year, while Wellington at $453,021 is up 2.5% on last year and 1% from February.
Canterbury at this time shows no significant change in price in line with the recent three month average. In March the level of new listings in the Canterbury region fell 36% compared with a year ago compared with the rest of the country at 11%. The report says that based on a representation of the national total it is likely that around 480 less properties were listed in the Canterbury region in the month than would have been anticipated at this time of year.
Both Wellington and Auckland saw asking price rise close to peak, with Wellington particularly strong with a 4.1% increase to come within $2,500 of the peak asking price indicating confidence in vendor expectations.
In contrast Northland and Marlborough both showed significant falls in asking prices taking those regions to record low asking price levels. Four regions posted an increase in new listings with Waikato showing a 9% increase to 994 new listings, the highest level in over three years.
The report also shows that the level of inventory of unsold homes on the market continues to grow, recording its third consecutive month of rise to break through the psychological level of one year, reaching 53 weeks.
'Given this high level of inventory, matched to slow levels of new listings it is becoming clear that the high asking price is more likely to be the result of keen interest focused purely on new listings, leaving older listings somewhat languishing on the shelf at what could be unrealistic prices or presentation that needs refreshing to attract buyers,’ the report says.
The truncated mean asking price for all new listings in March rose again to $421,940 up from $420,265 in February. On a seasonally adjusted basis the asking price rose 1% indicating a continued confidence amongst sellers.
The trend of the past two years shows continued strength in asking price expectation, the report points out. The level of new listings, whilst rising in March was still 15% down compared to March last year. The current 12 month moving average total shows 131,722 new listings down 6% as compared to the prior 12 month period. The market continues to remain quiet in terms of listings and sales as has been seen in the REINZ sales reports for the last few months with both January and February reporting record lows. February sales totaled 4,502.
The level of unsold houses on the market at the end of March actually fell from 52,672 in February to 51,980 in March. This represented the equivalent of 53.1 weeks of equivalent sales, as assessed on a seasonally adjusted basis.
‘The key driver of this rising inventory is more a reflection of somewhat lackluster sales than excessive new listings. The absolute level though at over a year of equivalent sales will continue to impact the market and maintain the buyer’s market perspective,’ the report explains.
