Mortgagee sales beginning to ease off, says expert

Photo / APN

Mortgagee sales in September remained on a par with August but continued a trend of falling forced sales, data shows.

Terralink International figures showed 187 forced sales nationwide during September - comparable with the 188 in August but well down on the 217 in July. Mortgagee sales peaked at 264 in May.

Terralink managing director Mike Donald said forced sales were still nearly five times higher than the pre-recession period but that there was now a clear downward trend for the first time since 2008.

"The latest figures show a slight drop on the month before but it is the overall trend which is most significant," Donald said.

"Over the last quarter we have seen an ongoing downward trend that signals, at an overall level, that the pain is easing for property owners."

The biggest drops in mortgagee sales in September were Manawatu (down 43 per cent), Wellington (50 per cent), and Canterbury (65 per cent).

However, they increased in Otago (up 22 per cent), Auckland (12 per cent) and Waikato (9 per cent).

"Mum and dad" homeowners accounted for 24 per cent of mortgagee sales in September, Donald said.

- NZPA