Latest: March house prices set another record! Auckland’s median house price rises 11.1%!

The latest REINZ figures show that New Zealand’s median house price rose 13.7% in March to a record NZ$665,000, up from NZ$585,000 in March 2019. Eight regions also recorded new median house price highs.

New Zealand’s median house price excluding Auckland rose 13.3% to a record NZ$555,000, up from NZ$490,000 in March last year.

In Auckland, the median house price rose 11.1% to a record NZ$950,000, up from NZ$855,000 a year earlier, and increased by NZ$65,000 in February 2020.

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Alongside Auckland, the following regions also recorded new median price highs:

• Northland rose 1% from NZ$495,000 a year earlier to NZ$565,000.
• Waikato’s price rose 60% from NZ$529,000 a year earlier to NZ$600,000.
• Manawatu / Wanganui’s price rose 7% from NZ$335,000 a year earlier to NZ$431,250.
• Taranaki’s price rose from $375,000 a year earlier to $425,000, an increase of 3%.
• Tasman rose 7% from NZ$605,000 a year earlier to NZ$670,000.
• Canterbury rose 8% from NZ$459,000 a year earlier to NZ$490,000.
• Southland’s price rose 28.2% from NZ$292,105 a year earlier to NZ$374,580.

REINZ Chief Executive Bindi Norwell said: ‘March was a buoyant month for residential property nationwide, with median prices rising year on year in every region. New Zealand’s median price reached a new high of $665,000. Median prices also reached all-time highs in 8 regions, including Auckland, while 12 of the 16 regions recorded double-digit annual median price increases.

‘What we can say is that, before COVID-19 reached New Zealand’s shores, the property market was experiencing strong growth. This now includes Auckland, where, after two consecutive years of growth, the market has recorded steady year-on-year price growth for 5 consecutive months,’ she continued.

‘The extent of COVID-19’s impact remains open to debate, but it will depend on many factors. These include how long the country remains in Alert Level 4 lockdown, unemployment, consumer and business confidence, people’s ability to access finance and fund their mortgages, and the time needed for the wider economy to recover. Property is a long-term investment, and the market will recover. The question is how long that recovery will take.

The number of homes sold in March fell by 4.8％

The number of homes sold in New Zealand in March fell by -4.8% year on year, from 7,213 to 6,866, a decrease of 347 homes. This was the lowest March sales total in a year dating from September.

Across New Zealand excluding Auckland, the number of homes sold fell by -11.1% year on year, from 5,130 to 4,559—a decrease of 571 homes.

In Auckland, the number of homes sold in March rose 10.8% year on year, from 2,083 to 2,307, the highest residential sales total in 4 months.

16 regions recorded selling times below 30 days during the year, the highest number of regions

Compared with March 2019, the national median number of days to sell in March fell from 36 to 30, a reduction of 6 days. This was the lowest selling time for 3 of the past 3 months.

The auction share reached its highest level in 40 months

In March, auctions accounted for 20.4% of total sales nationwide, with 1,404 properties sold at auction, up from 13.0% of homes (938) a year earlier. This was the highest auction share in 40 months, since November 2016.

Inventory

The total number of properties available for sale nationwide fell from 28,228 in March 2019 to 20,702 in March, a decline of -26.7%. There were 7,526 fewer properties than 12 months earlier, taking inventory to its lowest March level since records began.

Prices

Homes selling for less than NZ$500,000 fell from a market share of 38.6% (2,781 properties) in March 2019 to 27.6% (1,896 properties) in March 2020.

Homes selling for between NZ$500,000 and NZ$750,000 increased from 30.4% (2,191 properties) in March 2019 to 32.3% (2,220 properties) in March 2020.

At the upper end of the market, the share of homes selling for NZ$1,000,000 or more increased from 14.9% (1,073 properties) in March 2019 to 20.0% (1,376 properties) in March 2020.

Download the full report：file:///C:/Users/cqlil/OneDrive/%E6%A1%8C%E9%9D%A2/REINZ%20Residential%20Press%20Release%20%20-%20March%202020.pdf