House buyer, seller numbers falling: Nielsen

Nielsen has released data on house buyers and sellers. Photo/Chris Loufte

Fewer people will be buying and selling houses in New Zealand in the next 12 months.

The number of buyers will drop 34 per cent and the number of sellers 41 per cent in the next 12 months market researcher Nielsen has forecast.

About 254,000 New Zealanders intend this year to buy a property and 115,000 expect to sell a property. Of those, 65 per cent will be repeat buyers while 35 per cent will be first-time buyers.

Of the repeat buyers, 63 per cent will come from outside Auckland and 37 per cent will be within the boundaries of New Zealand's largest city.

"First time buyers are more likely to be located in Auckland than other parts of New Zealand," Nielsen said, "and 23 per cent of first home buyers are planning or considering moving out of the current region they reside in."

Nielsen found 18 per cent of buyers used Facebook to search property, up from 11 per cent last year.

"Half of all buyers now access real estate information from their mobile phone/device, up 15 per centage points compared to 2015. With this in mind, it is imperative that real estate service providers continue to innovate the touch points they use to connect with customers," Neilsen said.