Housing market retreats: Auckland rises 16.3% to reach a million dollars, New Zealand prices rise 19.8%

New Zealand’s supercharged housing market has exploded even higher, with Auckland’s median reaching $ 1 million for the first time.

Domestic prices have also risen nearly 20 percent in one year.

While the Reserve Bank is inclined to reintroduce loan-to-value ratios to restrict lending once again, new data from the Real Estate Institute for October showed that Auckland home prices rose 16, 3 percent per annum of $ 860,000 to the new six-figure average.

The national median shot up 19.8 percent from $ 605,000 last year to $ 725,000 last month.

“October will go down in housing history as the time when median home prices in the Auckland region hit the million dollar mark for the first time, something no one anticipated or expected just six months after all. the country came out of the blockade. ” said REINZ CEO Bindi Norwell.

Earlier this year, economists forecast that prices would fall between 6 and 9 percent in December or next March.

The median for Auckland City is $ 1,200,000, $ 1 million for Manukau and $ 1.15 million for North Shore.

Norwell was concerned about Auckland prices: “While this is an important milestone, it raises serious questions about future affordability for Auckland residents looking to set foot on the property ladder.”

Ten regions posted record average price increases in October.

Gisborne prices increased 34.1 percent annually from $ 425,000 in October last year to $ 570,000 in October, Marlborough 26.8 percent from $ 445,500 to $ 565,000, Otago 22.7 percent from $ 532,000 to $ 652,500, Wellington 20.8 percent from $ 650,000 to $ 785,000, Manawatu / Wanganui 17.5 percent percent from $ 400,000 to $ 470,000, Northland 16.5% from $ 515,000 to $ 600,000, Bay of Plenty 16.2% from $ 620,000 to $ 720,500, Waikato 15.9% from $ 565,000 to $ 655,000 and Canterbury 9.7% from $ 465,000 to $ 510,000 in October.

Nationally, agents sold the most properties in 53 months. Annually, volumes increased 25 percent from 7,063 sales to 8,830 sales. REINZ said it was the highest number of properties sold since May 2016 and the highest October sales count since October 2006, or in the last 14 years.

Norwell said: “The New Zealand property market is extremely dynamic right now, with over 8,800 properties sold across the country, that is, over 283 properties sold every day in October. Last time we saw sales volumes of this magnitude was in May 2016, when the market was very strong and prices were increasing in many parts of the country. “

The REINZ House Price Index for New Zealand, which measures changing values, rose 13.5 percent annually to 3,248. That is a new record for the index. The HPI for New Zealand, excluding Auckland, showed that house price values ​​increased 12 percent from October 2019 to 3203, also a new record.

Owen Vaughan, editor of the NZME-owned property site OneRoof.co.nz, said: “While listings are on the rise, the sheer volume of properties that have come on the market in recent months has not been enough to satisfy the buyer demand, and the Reserve Bank’s announcement of LVR yesterday will only increase competition in an already intense market.Investors have upped their game and that has put pressure on first-time home buyers in some areas.

“Figures from the OneRoof Property Report released earlier in the month show that home values ​​in most territorial authorities are above where they were at the start of the Covid crisis. Along with the latest data from REINZ, They paint a picture of a booming property market. “