Market cools for winter

Auckland appears to be in a 'wait-and-see' mode with buyers sitting on their hands. Photo / Bloomberg

The housing market nationally continues to show signs of steadying according to realestate.co.nz, a firm owned by the Real Estate Institute, Ray White, Barfoot & Thompson, Bayleys, Harcourts and LJ Hooker.

Despite a rise in the number of properties for sale in April when compared to the same time last year, Auckland appears to be in a 'wait-and-see' mode with buyers sitting on their hands.

Vanessa Taylor, spokesperson for the property site, says: "A cooling in demand and an increase in the number of properties sitting on the market indicates that potential buyers are taking their time and exploring all of their options."

The same can't be said for the rest of New Zealand, with most regions recording an overall decrease in available housing stock.

The tighter stock position outside of Auckland is reflected particularly in the Hawke's Bay, where stock is at an all-time low and the asking price for lifestyle properties is at an all-time high of just over $1.2 million.

"Hawke's Bay has had an attraction for many people for some time and this has been accentuated in the recent past," says Taylor.

Other areas that recorded an all-time low in available stock include Gisborne, Manawatu-Wanganui, Northland and Taranaki.

Taylor says that nationally, demand for residential housing has gone down by 13.8 per cent over the past three months. Demand in Auckland is down the most at 31.1 per cent.

Auckland values down
Home values across the Auckland region are continuing to show a slight drop of 0.4 per cent over the past three months says property valuation firm Quotable Value.

It says values on the North Shore, Waitakere, in parts of Manukau and Auckland City central suburbs decreased during the last quarter, while values continued to rise in Papakura, Franklin, Rodney and Waiheke Island.

QV Auckland homevalue manager, James Steele says demand is still down as tougher lending restrictions continue to make it difficult for buyers requiring a mortgage to obtain finance for their purchases.

"However, cash buyers and those who are able to obtain funds, or are able to use equity built up over the past five years of substantial growth, are out hunting for good deals," he says.

"Well presented properties in decent locations are still selling well although it's taking a little longer than when the market was very hot and properties which are in poor condition or have issues are sitting around for a lot longer if vendors are unwilling to negotiate on price."