NZ's property market slows as increase in resale losses reported in Auckland, Christchurch and Tauranga

There has been an increase in owners selling apartments and houses at a loss in Auckland, Tauranga and Christchurch, as well as a larger share of shorter-term, loss-making resales. Photo / 123RF

New Zealand's property market is slowing and the number of owners selling apartments and houses at a loss is increasing, analysts say.

In the third quarter of 2017, 10.1 per cent of apartments were resold at a loss, while houses, at 4.1 per cent, fared better according to CoreLogic's Pain and Gain Report.

This resulted in a median loss of $25,000 for apartments compared to $18,000 for houses.

That was surprising given apartments were typically worth less than houses, the report said.

CoreLogic NZ Head of Research Nick Goodall said Christchurch held the highest proportion of loss-making resales with 11.1 per cent, up from 8.1 per cent in the previous quarter followed by Tauranga at 3.9 per cent and Auckland at 3.3 per cent.

Of those properties that were resold at a loss, the length of time that owners had held onto their properties reduced from 6.6 years in the previous quarter to 4.5 years in the September 2017 quarter, the report found.

There was a larger share of shorter-term, loss-making resales in the third quarter which could be a sign of market fatigue.

"As growth slows people may sell due to the weaker outlook for future capital gain," the report said.

But for the second quarter in a row there had been no resales at a loss in Queenstown showing the strength of the market there.

"The median gain in Queenstown is much higher than in Nelson or Invercargill, reflecting higher property values there."

Nationally there was almost $30m in realised losses over the quarter, with a median loss of $19,000 per sale.

This was dwarfed by the amount gained from properties resold at a profit, which totalled $3.4b, down from prior quarter of $4.3b, at a median gain of $172,000 per sale.

CoreLogic is a property information, analytics and services provider in the
United States, Australia and New Zealand.