PHOTO/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
$571,000 average price for properties for sale
Average asking prices for houses in Wairarapa increased 15.4 per cent in October, to $571,621 – the highest increase recorded in the country, compared with the previous month.
This was an increase of more than $51,000 on the previous high recorded in August 2018, and more than $88,000 more than the September 2019 average asking price, realestate.co.nz said.
Average asking prices were up around the country last month with Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Nelson and Bays, and the Central North Island also hitting 13-year record highs – as long as statistics have been kept – although their monthly increases ranged from 0.2 per cent to 1.2 per cent.
“Average asking prices in the [Wairarapa] region have been below $500,000 since January 2019 so it will be interesting to see if this is the beginning of a new trend, or just an isolated spike like we saw in August 2018 and then again in December 2018,” spokeswoman for realestate.co.nz, Vanessa Taylor said.
Real-time data from realestate.co.nz shows that the majority of those looking at property in Wairarapa are from Auckland or Wellington regions.
Taylor said that this could suggest Kiwi city dwellers are seeking a lifestyle change.
“It could be that people from bigger cities have built up equity in their current homes and are keen to capitalise on it by making the food and wine region a place to call home.”
Taylor said that the low stock levels could also be contributing to the rise in asking prices with the number of homes for sale down by 23.5 per cent [to 225 homes] compared with October last year.
“Supply and demand is likely having an impact here. As we know, an increase in demand and a decrease in supply tends to drive higher property prices.”
The number of houses for sale around the country was down by 13.1 per cent, with new listings down nationally by 17.1 per cent when compared with October 2018. Wairarapa was down 10.4 per cent for new listings.
Bindi Norwell, chief executive at REINZ said: “With many parts of the country seeing record asking prices and record median selling prices, it’s surprising that listings continue to remain at such a low point considering we’re well into spring. This means that prices are likely to continue to rise across many parts of the country until we see more supply in the market.”
The highest average asking price in the country was in the Central Otago/Lakes area at $1,006,481, followed by Auckland at $936,850. Coromandel, Wellington and Bay of Plenty were all in the $700,000 to $740,000 bracket.
