Tony Mayor decided to build a new home in Papamoa rather than buy one. Photo / George Novak
The number of house sales in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa fell by almost 25 per cent last month - the biggest drop since September 2010.
However, sale numbers were still above average.
The latest Real Estate institute of New Zealand figures showed 82 houses in the area were sold last month compared with 109 in July 2013, a 24.8 per cent drop.
The figures also showed a 17.5 per cent increase in the median sale price in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa during the same period.
REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said the drop was unusually large but it was not all bad.
"While the decline is surprisingly high and doesn't recur terribly often in the five-year period, the July 2013 month was remarkably high for the area for the time of year - in fact the third highest result in the five-year period," she said.
"Excluding that month the average result in July over the past five years has been 68 sales so this month's result is actually above that.
"Short version is, July 2014 isn't the exceptional result in the context of the last five years, the July 2013 was the real outlier."
The drop could be largely attributed to the low number of homes listed recently, local agents said.
Realty Service chief executive Ross Stanway said the drop in sales was consistent with the drop in the number of properties up for sale.
"That's been a trend for a few months now. There are just fewer properties available.
"There are definitely buyers in the market ... but there's not the choice they're looking for."
The upcoming election and a rise in interest rates may have been to blame, he said.
Tony Mayor of Papamoa has chosen to build rather than buy an existing home.
He and his partner moved into a new $435,000 home they had built by Barratt Homes in Golden Sands two weeks ago.
John O'Donnell, principal and owner of LJ Hooker Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, said part of the reason for low sales volumes was because new homes were not included in REINZ figures.
Mr Mayor, 47, said he and his partner could not afford a 20 per cent deposit. "The only way you can get into a property nowadays is a new build with a 10 per cent deposit. Twenty per cent is not affordable for a lot of people," he said.
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