Asking prices for houses in parts of New Zealand have reached an all-time high. Prices in Otago, Southland, Wellington and Waikato are soaring to the steepest asking prices since the records began in 2007.
The average asking price for a home in Otago rose 8.3 percent in May, bringing it up to $454,102 and Southland prices climbed even further, increasing by 9.5 percent to $344,688.
Wellington also reached new heights. Prices in the capital have been stable in the mid $600,000s for the first four months of 2019, but leapt to a new record high of $684,300 - a 4.2 percent increase on the previous month.
"It's an interesting picture and somewhat defies supply and demand logic," said Vanessa Taylor from realestate.co.nz.
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"Typically, if there's a scarcity of listings, asking prices tend to lift,"
However, the total number of homes for sale in Wellington has increased by 18.4 percent since last year.
"The Wellington region has had a shortage of listings in recent times and we will be watching with interest to see how this situation unfolds during 2019," said Taylor.
Waikato is a similar story, with prices up 3.2 percent from last month. The average now sits at $626,776.
However, Auckland is languishing behind the rest of the country, with a price drop of 2.7 percent in the last month.
Prices are now at an average of $875,476 and new property listings are down by 3.7 percent.
Newshub.
