So, how is the market?

February was a very buoyant month with the median price across New Zealand increasing by 14.3% to a new record median price of $640,000 - that's up from $560,000 in February 2019 making this the largest percentage increase in 53 months.

The Auckland market saw the biggest annual increase in sales volumes in 88 months with a 41.6% increase in the number of properties sold when compared to the same time last year. All seven districts in Auckland saw double-digit annual increases in sales volumes, the largest of which was Papakura District with an 83.6% annual increase. North Shore City saw a record median price of $1,155,000 and Waitakere City had a record equal median price of $830,000 and Manukau was up 2.2% to $850,000.

The median house prices in Auckland increased by 4.3% to $888,000 – up from $851,000 at the same time last year – the highest price in 35 months and the number of properties sold in February increased by 41.6% year-on-year – the highest number of residential properties sold in the month of February in 5 years.

Regions outside Auckland with the highest percentage increase in annual sales volumes during January were:
• Gisborne – the strongest February in 15 years
• Tasman – the highest for the month of February in 3 years
• Hawke’s Bay – the highest for the month of February in 4 years
• Bay of Plenty – the highest for the month of February in 4 years

Manukau’s statistics

Manukau's average sale price sits at $850,000 which is an increase of 2.2% compared to the same time last year. There were 379 sales in February 2020 compared to February 2019, there were 246 sales - that's an impressive increase of sales volume of 54.1%.

Market highlights

Auckland saw the median number of days to sell a property fall by 17 days from 56 to 39 year-on-year – the lowest days to sell for the month of February in 4 years.

Auckland had the second highest percentage of auctions in the country with 32.4% (637 properties) sold under the hammer, up from 21.4% (298 properties) in February 2019 – the highest percentage of auctions for Auckland in 27 months.

In summary

These statistics highlight that stock levels remain restrained, buyer interest remains strong, fueled by favourable market conditions such as low interest rates.

For two months in a row, every region in the country experienced annual median price increases, showing strong demand across the country. It’s highly likely we’ll see these price rises continue in March unless the economy takes a sudden hit from COVID-19. Whilst there is a strong awareness of the COVID-19, as yet we have seen little impact on the housing market.

So, how is the market?
We are seeing an increase in market energy with strong activity from determined buyers. In short, the market is humming. It’s all over the media, and it’s certainly ringing true in the statistics as well. If you are thinking of selling, it’s the best it's been in years.

What is contributing to the increase in sales volume? The high sales volumes have reduced available listings and with multiple active buying segments, this is resulting in a strong demand for quality properties. Also, an increase in confidence in the housing market which has been underpinned by a relatively strong economy, good employment rates and the low interest rate environment.

Manukau’s statistics
In Manukau, volume is up, stock remained tight, prices up and days to sell stable.
The median sale price for Manukau increased by 4.3% over a one year period and if we look at this data over a five year period, this has increased by 6.8%.

Market highlights
Across NZ, Listing supply has increased to 3.2% compared to the same time last year making it the busiest Jnaury in 4 years. In Auckland, this number increased by 9.7% making it the highest number of residential properties sold in the month of January since January 2016.

In Auckland, median house prices increased by 8.7% to $875,000 – up from $805,000 at the same time last year.

In summary
An extremely positive start to 2020 with all factors pointing towards a busy year ahead.

So how is the market?

If you were to ask me how the market is now, I would say not bad. I might even say pretty good. It continues to be a good time to buy, prices are the lowest they'll probably go, and (thanks to the RBNZ lowering the OCR to 1%) interest rates remain low and look set to stay there for quite some time.

With that said, it’s not a bad time to sell either for most properties — assuming you’ve adjusted your pricing expectations to the new norm in Manukau and Auckland overall. Will the low interest rates see an upturn in the market? It is unlikely in the immediate term, however it has already increased confidence and activity in the market. With further relaxing of the LVR rules expected (and perhaps some relaxing of the banks’ lending criteria), predictions point to an upturn maybe late 2020, but more likely 2021–22.

Market highlights

The monthly property report from REINZ shows for the first time in eight months, the number of residential properties sold across NZ in July increased by 3.7% from the same time last year to 6,118. This number is also the highest for the month of July in 3 years.

This suggests we’re starting to see some early signs of growth. We can attribute this to more certainty post the removal of the Capital Gains Tax bill, renewed confidence as parts of the market adopt the new norm in terms of pricing, and the warmer weather we’re looking forward to (which is when we tend to see more activity in the market).

Manukau’s statistics

We are seeing many positive signs for the road ahead. Manukau’s median sale price for July 2019 was $820,000 and when we compare this to July 2018 this figure was $828,000. Auckland's average asking price lifted by 1.5% compared to June 2019 to $928,152 for the second month in a row — that’s still some way off the region’s 2019 peak average asking price of $960,715 in February. I'll be watching with interest to see what happens during the rest of this quarter.

In summary

Across Auckland, prices haven’t really fallen that much; volume yes, but prices have been pretty static for quite some time. We can expect a nice stable market for the foreseeable future.