KEY POINTS:
The national median house price edged up to another record in September, but sales numbers continued to fall and the market is showing signs of plateauing.
Figures published today by the Real Estate Institute (REINZ) put the national median at $351,500 last month, $1500 up from August.
But sales numbers at 5894 were down from 6394 in August, and were the lowest for a September month since 2001 and not too much more than half the September 2003 figure of 10,686.
Despite the new record median, the latest figures should provide some cheer for Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard who has been looking for a slowdown in the property market as he struggles to control inflation.
Dr Bollard pursued the cause against price rises with four interest rate hikes between March and July, taking the official cash rate from 7.25 per cent to 8.25 per cent.
What today's REINZ figures show is that the national median has moved little in the past six months, since April when it was at $349,000, actually falling back in June and July before picking up again in August.
So nearly all of the 12.3 per cent rise in the national median since September 2006, when the figure was $313,000, happened between then and March. From April the figure has risen by just 0.7 per cent.
REINZ national president Murray Cleland said the slide in sales had probably helped support prices.
It was clear that with so few transactions in September there were still at least as many buyers as sellers.
Escalating building costs and a fall in building consent numbers was also helping to underwrite the residential property market, Mr Cleland said.
"People are constantly making comparisons between the cost of buying land and building a new home and existing properties, and I think we have reached that cross-over point now where that comparison might start to favour existing properties.
"It's the old story, land subdivision costs and timeframes imposed by local authorities plus building consent costs for new construction have risen at such a pace that the price of existing houses is now not looking at all excessive."
While interest costs had risen steeply in the past year or so, they seemed to be plateauing and homeowners were shouldering the increased mortgage burden.
In metropolitan Auckland the median was down $5000 from August to $445,000, while in Hamilton City it was up $10,000 to $365,000.
In Manawatu/Wanganui it was up from $215,000 to $240,000, and in Southland it rose from $176,000 to $195,000.
- NZPA
