Stock levels reach 10-year highs
Buyers now have a lot more properties to choose from, but the market has not turned completely in their favour, according to realestate.co.nz data and analysis.
A total of 35,712 homes were listed for sale across New Zealand in February. That represented a 10.2% increase on the previous month and a 13.6% increase on the previous year – and was the most since 2015.
Part of the reason for the large amount of stock on market is that 11,363 new listings were added in February, which was 27.6% more than in January.
However, that was actually somewhat underwhelming given that the number of new listings was 3.6% lower than the year before and down on expectations.
“We’re used to seeing a rush of new listings as everyone gets back from the beach and into business as usual. This year it’s less dramatic than the 40% uplift we would usually see,” realestate.co.nz CEO Sarah Wood said.
Active market points to fairly level playing field
Ms Wood said that with stock levels at 10-year highs, vendors were becoming more flexible with their asking prices and more willing to negotiate.
However, even though buyers are spoilt for choice, there are still plenty of deals being done.
“The market currently looks relatively breezy, especially compared to the frantic pace we saw in 2021. Buyers have time to breathe and do their due diligence as stable market conditions continue, while properties are still selling through, which is good news for sellers,” she said.
That can be seen in the fact that inventory levels are currently at 24 weeks (i.e. it would take 24 weeks to sell all the current listings, if properties continued selling at the current rate and no new homes were added to the market), compared to the long-term average of 26 weeks.
Ms Wood said there was a fairly level playing field between buyers and sellers.
“Properties are still selling, but at a steady pace. This is great news for buyers who have more options and more negotiating power,” she said.
“The good news for sellers is that properties are selling, with the number of properties sold increasing in January by 17.5% year-on-year according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, so working with agents and other experts to make your property attractive is key.”
Thinking about buying a home or investment property? In that case, I recommend you contact me to arrange a home loan pre-approval before you start your search, so you can get certainty around your budget.