KEY POINTS:
A new property information website is predicting a 50 per cent increase in property sales over the next two years.
Zoodle, which combines information from the website realestate.co.nz and Terralink International, was launched on January 15.
The housing market froze over the past 12-18 months but there were signs that it was about to turn a corner, judging by the volume of websites which indicated there was a substantial number of prospective buyers out there, said Zoodle managing director Alistair Helm.
Total house sales in 2008 were 56,000, the lowest for two decades.
That was 3.7 per cent of total dwellings in New Zealand, whereas the average percentage over the past decade has been around 6 per cent.
With the right conditions, sales would begin to pick up with the percentage of sales returning towards the average, he said.
"That should equate to around 90,000 sales, a 50 per cent increase on 2008."
"As house prices and interest rates fall, the market opens up more favourably for buyers."
- NZPA
