Harcourts Market Watch

In August we saw a changing property market place in New Zealand, with further thawing currently underway. As Harcourts' latest figures show, last month new exclusive listings were up nine percent on the same time last year as sellers decided to take action in time for Spring, including a good number in the mid-upper end - which may see more balance in that segment of the market.

The volume of written sales recorded by Harcourts was down though compared to the same month last year, as was the case across the industry as the latest REINZ figures reflect. However, in part due to the limited availability of quality higher-end homes, the average written sales price in all of our regions increased.

With Spring there is increasing activity from buyers and sellers so it will be interesting to see the final September figures, particularly for Christchurch where we expect strong demand from owner-occupiers for sound homes and increased interest from investors too, with rental vacancies being very low.

Hayden Duncan, CEO,
Harcourts New Zealand

Northern	August 2010	August 2009	% Change
New Exclusive Listings	2,157	1898	14%
New Auction/Tender Listings	634	641	-1%
Property on Hand	3,075	3,677	-16%
Written Sales	1,816	2,025	-10%
Average Price	$528,334	$478,680	10%
Increased action by sellers coupled with Harcourts’ continued growth saw new listings up by 14%, with the average price rise reflecting strength in the mid-upper end of the property market and weakness at the lower end.

Central	August 2010	August 2009	% Change
New Exclusive Listings	1,817	1902	-4%
New Auction/Tender Listings	358	357	0%
Property on Hand	3,347	2,975	13%
Written Sales	1,352	1,868	-28%
Average Price	$333,903	$326,378	2%
Our Central region is continuing to experience a soft real estate market. The volume of written sales is particularly impacted by the rural sector and difficulty in obtaining funding for rural property.

Wellington	August 2010	August 2009	% Change
New Exclusive Listings	1,675	1,709	-2%
New Auction/Tender Listings	452	461	-2%
Property on Hand	2,549	2,214	15%
Written Sales	1,457	1,844	-21%
Average Price	$340,441	$314,080	8%
The level of property on hand indicates that buyers that have been starved of choice will see more opportunities in the market and written sales should increase over the next month as a result.

Christchurch	August 2010	August 2009	% Change
New Exclusive Listings	3,254	2,864	14%
New Auction/Tender Listings	501	661	-24%
Property on Hand	3,251	3,686	-12%
Written Sales	2,118	2,836	-25%
Average Price	$380,286	$347,492	9%
A good increase in new exclusive listings but property on hand was still down on the same month last year. All figures will obviously all be impacted by the earthquake in the short term.

South Island Provincial	August 2010	August 2009	% Change
New Exclusive Listings	1,483	1,156	28%
New Auction/Tender Listings	202	208	-3%
Property on Hand	2,570	2,293	12%
Written Sales	968	1,059	-9%
Average Price	$305,653	$289,073	6%
In this region there was an increase in listings, giving buyers more choice. Written sales should now increase with more property on hand providing unsatisfied buyers with more options.

Harcourts has been in existence since 1888 and is New Zealand’s leading real estate group with around 180 offices nationwide. Harcourts also has over 280 offices in Australia and offices in Indonesia, Fiji, Singapore, China, South Africa and Zambia, and is in the process of entering the USA.

This update was kindly supplied to Conveyancing.co.nz by Stu Jenner of Harcourts Remuera Auckland - to see Stu's listings please visit his website - www.remuera.harcourts.co.nz

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