There was a reasonable jump in the number of properties on offer at the latest residential auctions and an even bigger jump in the sales rate.
Interest.co.nz monitored the auctions of 277 residential properties around the country over the week of August 16-22, up from 238 the previous week and 236 the week before that.
Of the 277 properties on offer, 135 sold under the hammer which gave a sales rate of 49%, up from 37% the previous week.
That was the highest sales rate achieved in any week since the beginning of September 2023.
The main drivers of the higher sales rate was improved sales levels in Auckland and Canterbury.
However there appeared to be only a modest improvement in prices, with 65% of the properties that sold achieving prices that were equal to or above their rating valuation, after several weeks of sitting within a point of two either side of 60%.
We will need a another couple of weeks' results before we know whether the latest results were just a flash in the pan or a signal that stronger market conditions are just around the corner.
Details of all of the properties that were offered at last week's auctions, including the selling prices of those that sold, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.
20 Comments
Quite a few agents have reported a big turnaround in appraisals, new listings, and sales.
The reverse bank recommenced rate cuts this week and says no house price growth is happening! Tell that to the buyers
Certainly feels like a reverse bank. Very anti progress with restrictive lending criteria.
Progress is not speculative housing bubbles. Lending criteria is fine once it normalizes. Those "invested" in capital gain chasing will be feeling exposed. They are the last person standing as the music stops.
Maybe we are seeing the beginning of clearance, There is a lot of overhanging stock sitting there and withdrawn. Perhaps the vendors are finally meeting the market. Some of that stock is genuinely nice, and some is really land value only. The last few months have seen HPI falling each month in Auckland. Be interesting to see what August numbers bring. Is spring in the air?
Summer may bring out both more buyers and frustrated sellers. Market has an early 2009 feel to it. Perhaps its the similar OCR environment.
The major difference I can see, is that in 2009 there where hardly any decent listings, the stock levels where low vs now, plenty want to sell now but at a price buyers do not want to pay. It seems to me that during the GFC there where more forced mortgagee sales, but now there are just way way more people who want (need?) sell then back then? there was very little overhang in 2009 unless it was clearly leaky reclad required stuff.
Feels more like 2011 to me, sellers finally capitulating, either meeting the market or withdrawing. Took 3 years after GFC for market normalcy to return. Wouldn't expect any less this time. My observations are in regional areas.
The regions have held up better then I expected, perhaps its migration out of the city by boomers wanting some cash out to retire with? The most pressing regional issue is employment and the cost of energy (related to employment prospects).
Seen quite a few contacts sell houses recently after a year or more of trying. All capitulated on original price expectations.
So long as they drive a good deal on their new property then the grief is turning into acceptance. Just move on...
Everything sold at auction in Canterbury sold above RV?
Canterbury has held up pretty well overall. My parents house value has actually increased over the last couple of years. The dairy boom is pushing the Canterbury economy along quite nicely at the moment. It's one of the few branches that's performing well at my company.
Manukau still struggling
IMHO the investors pushed prices up way way to far and many of the suburbs with a lot of rentals are not appealing to FHBers who often choose considering local primary schools. Also with falling prices people try to locate closer to the CBD and their work even with improved rail transport links. This will be impacting the suburbs of Manakau that are more owner occupier.
There is no logical reason why many Auckland suburbs will not ultimately end up falling as far as many Wellington suburbs have fallen.
As clearance occurs and sellers meet the market true price discovery will occur, but this will set the base from which people will gain confidence.
The ‘affordable’ home is often in an area where your kid would need security to, from and at school.
I know a few who purchased in the last few years, have had the first child and are looking in horror at their local social and educational options.
Any wonder the exodus.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/why-do-we-need-2-million-homes-simon-wils…
Among the many questions the new plan raises, perhaps the biggest is about the provision for two million homes.
Auckland currently has about 550,000 dwellings for a population of 1.7 million. At that ratio, two million homes would house more than six million people. The official projection for the city’s population by 2050 is 2.5 million. Much less.
Bishop has repeatedly said he wants to see house prices fall. He’ll be unpopular among many of his colleagues for that: Sir John Key explained recently that his whole political strategy was based on keeping house prices rising.
Paywalled. Do you mind adding the paragraph where Key says that? It sounds likely but would also be extremely duplicitous given Key's constant assertions of "no housing crisis" and limp attempts to address spiralling prices under his watch
And knighted by himself for his services to banking.
“The theory holds until you get to the economy.”
Sir John Key exposed the problem for his party very clearly last month, in a speech at the event to launch this year’s Auckland State of the City report.
> “The guts of what’s wrong is that the housing market is going down, not up,” he said.
> “When house prices go up, everybody tells the pollsters, ‘Oh that’s terrible, my son or daughter can’t buy a house. I feel really bad.’
The technical term for that is ‘bulls***’.”
“What they really do,” he continued,
“is they say to their wife – or the wife says to her husband – ‘God, we paid $1 million for this house and it’s worth $1.7 million now.’
Quietly they go, ‘Oh, we feel rich’."
“And then they go and borrow a bit from the ANZ and they go on holiday and they upgrade their kitchen, they feel good about life.
So when you have a negative wealth effect, they feel bad.”
Mind you Hellon and Taxinda would have both echoed these words. Bishop is the first with some guts
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