How the changing market has affected Auckland's property prices
The latest statistics from REINZ have just arrived showing that the demand and supply balance is certainly shifting — more properties available to view gives buyers a lot more choice.
However, ASB chief economist, Nick Tuffley, believes it’s still the case that Auckland doesn’t have enough homes being built to meet its population growth.
At the sharp end of the market — people buying and selling — there was a flood of regular listings coming onto the market with fewer sales being cleared.
“We’ve got this overhang in terms of listings, so buyers also have that ability to pick and choose and take their time; it has swung to be a buyer’s market,” he said.
“That fear of missing out, which sometimes drives people to aggressively bid up and try and jump on properties quickly, those dynamics have gone. But the background of the underlying shortfalls is certainly putting a floor under prices.”
Year-on-year growth for the Auckland region is 2.5% while New Zealand-wide growth was at 11.4%. Nick Tuffley expected Auckland prices to hold up and even increase further. “The reality is we are not going to be catching up to the population growth for several years, in terms of the amount of building,” he said.