House sale listings rise 10% in Feb, but low sales volumes mean unsold inventory rises too, realestate.co.nz says

Listings of houses for sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 10% in February from January, although the inventory of unsold homes is creeping back up as sales remain low, Realestate.co.nz says in its lated monthly indicators report.

However, new listings of 11,395 in February were down from February levels of 2010 (14,329) and 2009 (12,164), Realestate.co.nz CEO Alistair Helm said.

See comments from Realestate.co.nz from its NZ Property Report for February:

After seeing the first two months of summer result in record low levels of new listings; the month of February saw a strong rise with 11,395 new listings come onto the market. This level, whilst up a seasonally adjusted 9.5% as compared to January was still well down on the February levels of 2010 (14,329) and 2009 (12,164). This clearly shows that the overall sentiment in the market is quiet as was witnessed by the January sales levels reported by REINZ of 3,252, the lowest month on record.

The rise in new listings coupled with the low sales saw the inventory of unsold homes on the market rise again as measured on an equivalent number of weeks of sale basis. Having fallen for 3 months in a row the inventory levels rose to 48.9 weeks – well over 11 months supply. This level as compared to a long term average of 40 weeks means the property market is still very much in the camp of a buyer’s market with ample selection of properties to review.

Asking Price

The truncated mean asking price for all new listings coming onto the market in February rose by over $13,000 from $406,525 to $420,265.

On a seasonally adjusted basis the asking price actually fell by 1.1% to $412,128. The summer peak of new listings traditionally sees a rise in asking price.

The current asking price edged closer to the peak of asking price back in October 2007, it is currently just 2% below that peak.

New Listings

The record lows seen in the months of December and January when in total 17,224 new listings came onto the market, have been replaced by a surge in listings in February with 11,395 new listings coming onto the market. This level whilst relatively strong as judged by recent months, is significantly lower than prior years. The February total shows a 20% decline as compared to February last year.

On the most recent 12 month period a total of 133,883 new listings have come onto the market which represents a 3% decline compared to the same period last year.

Inventory

The level of unsold houses on the market at the end of February fell slightly to 52,673 from 53,297 at the end of January. This represented the equivalent of 48.9 weeks of equivalent sales, as assessed on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The inventory of unsold houses remains high in absolute terms as the level of sales activity continues to be so weak. At the current level the inventory still remains well above the long term average of 40 weeks.

See the media release from Realestate.co.nz

Following record low months of new home listings nationally in December and January, the final days of summer have seen a surge in new home listings in the Auckland region.

Data released today in the NZ Property Report – a monthly report of housing market activity compiled by Realestate.co.nz – shows the number of new property listings in Auckland saw a 50% increase on the previous month with 3,891 new listings come onto the market. Auckland listings in February also represented a full third (34%) of all new listings nationally. 

Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz, says that although this is a natural part of the market bounce-back for this time of year, it is clear that the property market is certainly more active in the main cities than provincial New Zealand.

Mr Helm says overall vendor confidence is remaining resilient in challenging times, with the average asking price rising by $14,000 to $420,265 nationally. The Auckland region has also remained at the peak of asking price at just under $550,000.

“With asking prices still 2% below the peak of the market back in October 2007, it is still largely a buyer’s market. However, if new listings continued to remain low nationally, this would usually turn in vendors’ favour over time.”   

Mr Helm says that he has no doubts that the recent events in Christchurch willhave an impact on the whole of the New Zealand property market next month, but that it is far too early to ascertain what that might be, based solely on the February figures.

“We know that the immediate need is to focus on those people in Christchurch who still need immediate assistance following the effect of the earthquake on their lives and homes.

“We have close relationships with many real estate agents in the region, and our thoughts are certainly with all Cantabrians at this difficult time,” says Mr Helm.

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website with more than 120,000 real estate listings covering residential, commercial, business and farms for sale.

The latest issue of the NZ Property Report, covering December, plus more analysis of the property market can be found on www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand real estate.

(Updated with Housing Report video)