Why the pendulum is gradually moving from buyers to sellers

Residential sales numbers rose again in August, which was both the fourth consecutive monthly increase and a 5.5% increase on the same period last year, according to CoreLogic.

By contrast, the most recent listings numbers show the number of for-sale properties was 18-19% below the same time last year and the five-year average.

Northland and Taranaki were the only major markets to record year-on-year growth in listings, while there were declines in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu / Whanganui, Marlborough, Nelson / Tasman, Otago, Southland, Wellington, West Coast and Waikato.

CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said that as property transactions continued to rise from low levels and available stock fell to the lowest levels in over a year in most markets, sellers might slowly gain the upper hand.

“August marked the fourth consecutive monthly rise in sales volumes, and while the increase is off a low base of around 60,000 annual sales versus a longer-term average of around 90,000 annual sales, upturns have to start somewhere. Factors such as a broad peak for mortgage rates and strong net migration suggest that is what’s happening right now,” he said.

“On the supply side, the ‘spring lift’ has begun, but the flow of new listings coming onto the market each week is still well below average as would-be vendors choose to wait and see, given the uncertainty about how long a sale might take and/or the potential price achieved.

“Arguably, it remains a buyer’s market, with the national total stock of listings on the market still relatively high. However, there is a downwards trend now evident for stock levels too, which may start to contribute to competitive price pressures.”

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