Article supplied by REINZ:
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand released March’s monthly report earlier this morning.
Before COVID-19 hit New Zealand and the lockdown commenced on 26 March, the property market was in a strong period of growth.
In Auckland, median house prices increased by 11.1% to a new record median price of $950,000 – up from $855,000 at the same time last year, and a $65,000 uplift on February 2020. This, however, was likely due to the increase in million-dollar-plus properties
Whilst the number of properties sold in March across New Zealand decreased by -4.8%, which is understandable because of the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown, Auckland saw an increase. The number of properties sold in Auckland in March increased by 10.8% year-on-year (from 2,083 to 2,307) – the highest number of residential properties sold in 4 months.
Bindi Norwell, CEO of REINZ commented “There was still a strong number of first home buyers in the market and they have been more confident in the market than for some time with support from their families, coupled with lower interest rates, which provided some opportunity to get onto the property ladder. Low interest rates had also likely driven interest from investors who continued to be active in the market. In South Auckland, there were several builders looking for land to purchase. Overall, the market was positive and really starting to build momentum until we headed into the lockdown period.”
Norwell continued” Right now, in the Alert Level 4 lockdown period, people are still able to list their property for sale, but inspections can only be carried out online or via means such as virtual reality or ‘walk-through’ type tours. Going forward, we expect people will take a bit of a ‘wait and see’ approach when it comes to listing their property for sale. But for those who have decided after 4 weeks of being locked in their ‘bubble’ that they don’t like their house anymore, they will be desperate for the chance to move, so there may be some great opportunities for those wanting to buy and sell in the coming months”
To read the full REINZ Residential Press Release for March 2020 – click HERE
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