Harcourts Cooper’s Ilse Evans says, “Winter is upon us, and with the long weekend easing us into the colder months, we find there is a limited supply of property for sale. I see this as a direct result of the high number of listings in May, now having sold. Our auction success rate has also slowed down.
“The many Government measures have turned the previously runaway market into a more “normal” market. Don’t get me wrong. Prices are still good, just not outrageous”.
According to the market, house price growth has reduced slightly in May, but prices remain well up on this time last year. The latest data from QV shows the average value increased 8.8 percent over the three months to May, compared with an 8.9 percent lift for the three months to April. QV general manager David Nagel said the slight reduction was significant, given the Index was a rolling average.
“[It] includes transactions from some of the most buoyant months earlier in the quarter.
“We can expect to see further reductions in the rate of growth as the impacts of the recent tax changes for investors and credit availability start to take effect.”
The Australian economy is gaining momentum again, which may attract Kiwis back over there. US and UK vaccine roll outs are going well and many highly-skilled workers may be attracted to higher salaries in these countries also. What we’re seeing now is those buyers who already have a property but they’re thinking we can take advantage of the cheap interest rates, [so] let’s upscale the quality of our home or the size of our home to suit a growing family.
These are the more expensive homes where the next-home buyers are targeting – they’ve got plenty of equity, they’re not affected by the bright line fees or the interest deductibility rules changing. So they’re out there in the market and that’s helping fuel these price increases.
Ilse concludes, “If you want to talk more about how this affects you or some advice on winter buying/selling or even preparing for the coming spring marketplace, please contact me”, and for more information on property valuations Hauraki please go to http://www.ilseevans.co.nz .
