No matter how you read it, the market remains strong. However data for the April and early May periods must be read with some caution as the school holidays, Easter and Anzac day took big chunks out of market time. The rest of May and June data should see trends become clearer.
Affordable? Yes, if you can bid near a million
Tuesday May 6, 2014Budget advisers say there is no such thing as affordable in Auckland any more and house-hunters who want to avoid taking on debt may need to adjust their expectations. But others say it’s just a shift in property ladder rungs.
This house at 38 Cooper Street, Grey Lynn with an asking price of $895,000.
The three-bedroom bungalow with an asking price of nearly $900,000 in Sandringham is “a compelling call to first-home buyers”, the agent says. And the “affordable” St Heliers brick and tile with a price tag of $839,000 proves you don’t have to “go somewhere west or south to start”.Link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=112499
Harcourts News Release May 2014
Continued Pressure and new high
Provisional residential data from New Zealand’s largest real estate group Harcourts for the month of April shows there is continued pressure on the housing market, with the average sales price now sitting at a record high of $700,793.This is up 11% on the same time last year. It is also a 13.5% increase on the September 2013 figures, before loan to value restrictions were introduced. However, as the average price is affected by sales at the upper end of the market, we cannot completely discount the effect LVR restrictions have had overall.
Link:
http://news.harcourts.net/news/provisional-market-data-northern-region-may-2014/Slight cooling in April real estate sales
April 2014
Auckland residential property prices cooled slightly during April with sales down approximately 15 per cent over the same time last year, returning to 2012 levels.Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director, Peter Thompson, said this was customary due to the Easter, Anzac Day and school holiday period, but a higher than normal number of listings (3623) was also adding to market competitiveness.
“Undoubtedly, the Loan-to-value ratio and interest rates were also keeping prices in check.”
Linkhttp://www.barfoot.co.nz/Market-reports/2014/April/Market-update.aspx
