New property listings have jumped, in what could be the first sign the property market is starting to turn in favour of buyers, the latest realestate.co.nz data shows.
The national average asking price for properties has reached $969,604, a 14-year high, up from $933,135 in October.
Releasing its November report on Wednesday, property listings website realestate.co.nz confirms nationwide property listings are up 9 percent year-on-year, marking a return to 2014 levels.
Coupled with the rise in new listings, national housing stock (the total number of homes remaining on the market over the month), is up 5.1 percent year-on-year.
Referring to Statistics New Zealand data showing 47,331 new homes were consented over the year to September, realestate.co.nz CEO Sarah Wood said the latest data indicates more choice for home-buyers over the coming months.
"The New Zealand property market is taking an encouraging turn. The last time we saw our new listings this high was seven years ago in October 2014," Wood said.
In Auckland, there were 5773 new listings in November, up 10.4 percent year-on-year. In Wellington there were 1100 new listings, up 21.8 percent.
New listings in Canterbury were down 1.3 percent year-on-year, at 1679.
The region with the biggest year-on-year increase in new listings was Hawke's Bay at 379, up 36.3 percent.
This is followed by Manawatu/Wanganui, where there were 578 new listings, up 25.1 percent.
Stock and new listings spike in the Capital
In Wellington, new listings were up 21.8 percent and total stock was up 58.3 percent year-on-year, realestate.co.nz confirms.
Higher levels of both stock and new listings indicates buyers are being more considered, as homes are listed at a faster rate than they're sold, Wood said.
Average asking prices climb month-on-month in 12 out of 19 regions
The average asking price in Auckland reached $1,264,601 in November, up 2.6 percent compared to October.
In the Capital, the average asking price tipped the $1m mark, at $1,002,190, up 3.9 percent.
The average asking price in Canterbury was $672,248, a monthly rise of 5.2 percent.
Monthly growth in average asking prices was highest in the West Coast, where the average asking price reached $424,726 in November, up 11.9 percent compared to October.
The average asking price in the Coromandel jumped 10.7 percent month-on-month, to $1,203,073.
Seven regions showed a drop in average asking prices month-on-month. They include Central Otago/Lakes, down 6.9 percent to $1,314,884, Central North Island, down 4.7 percent to $728,921, and Hawke's Bay, down 2.5 percent to $821,582.
In Nelson and Bays, the average asking price dropped 2.2 percent compared to October, to $854,595. Wairarapa dropped by 2.1 percent, to $793,123.
Average asking prices in Bay of Plenty and Waikato dipped marginally, sitting at $938,816 and $860,233 respectively.
Stock levels soar in Manawatu and Wairarapa
In Manawatu/Wanganui, stock was up 71.4 percent year-on-year, the highest of all regions, followed by Wairarapa, up 63.5 percent.
Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Otago also had noteable increases in stock levels year-on-year.
"It’s been a few years since we’ve seen total stock increases like this. These numbers are heartening, and another early indicator that the winds of change are coming to the market," Wood said.
The 9 percent year-on-year increase in new listings and 5.1 percent increase in stock is in sharp contrast to the onset of the COVID-19 Delta outbreak in August, when realestate.co.nz said stock was at the lowest level in 14 years.
But whether increased supply and new listings will cause a drop in average asking prices remains to be seen.
