A combination of high demand and low stock has seen the national average asking price for houses reach $797,156 in November, realestate.co.nz says.
The real estate website lists properties for sale through real estate agents in New Zealand. Online listings are allocated a price-range, which users can search.
Based on this data, November's national average asking price was $797,156 - an annual increase of 17.1 percent.
Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor said despite 12,622 new listings coming on last month, the long-term stock shortage continues to be a challenge for buyers.
"Nationally, the number of homes available for sale in November was down 16.9 percent on November 2019, with nine regions recording 13-year stock lows. That's despite a 14.5 percent year-on-year increase in new listings," Taylor said.
The website had a surge in the number of online users year-on-year, showing strong demand. Compared to the same time last year, the number of online users jumped 23 percent, from 1.08 million to 1.33 million.
"We know that Kiwis are still out looking for property and as long as demand keeps outweighing supply, we'll likely continue to see prices pushed upwards," Taylor added.
Seven regions hit 13-year average asking price highs
Average asking prices are a measure of what property owners expect to receive for their property. Last month's data showed seven regions hit 13-year price highs.
The average asking price in Auckland was $1,030,116, up 12.5 percent year-on-year despite 45.9 percent more listings. Auckland has topped $1 million for the third consecutive month.
Waikato's average asking price was $689,856, up 6.5 percent. Lifestyle properties were a key driver, up 27.8 percent year-on-year with an average asking price of $1,324,962. Data showed renewed interest from Aucklanders.
"We saw close to 25,000 Aucklanders searching for property in the Waikato region on realestate.co.nz last month and I expect that trend will continue as transport links improve," Taylor said.
Lifestyle properties in Manawatu/Whanganui also reached a 13-year high, where the average lifestyle asking price was $814,844.
Aside from Auckland and Waikato, other regions that reached 13-year highs in average asking prices were:
- Wairarapa: average asking price $654,376 (up 27.8 percent).
- Coromandel: average asking price $900,999 (up 21.9 percent).
- Southland: average asking price $439,993 (up 21.9 percent).
- Manawatu/Whanganui: average asking price $525,821 (up 17.8 percent).
- Hawkes Bay: average asking price $665,250, up 15 percent.
Nelson & Bays records biggest stock fall, Gisborne stock rises
The total number of homes for sale in November were down 16.9 percent on the same time last year, at 18,319 homes.
Nine regions recorded 13-year lows in homes for sale. The most significant lows were in Nelson & Bays, where stock was down -44.7 percent (233) year-on-year, followed by Coromandel at -43.4 percent (249) and Marlborough at -42.9 percent (152).
Housing stock in Auckland and Central Otago/Lakes was at a similar level to last year. The area with the most stock was Gisborne, up 22.1 percent year-on-year, to 105.
Gisborne was also one of the few areas where the average asking price didn't increase from October to November. But year-on-year, Gisborne's average asking price (currently $561,955), was 31.1 percent higher. Last month, there were over 8600 users searching for properties in the Gisborne region.
"That's quite a remarkable number when you consider there were only 105 properties for sale in total," Taylor added.
The top three most searched locations were Tolaga Bay and Wainui, followed by Gisborne city surrounds.
