Property buyers are in an increasingly strong position, with vendors reacting to the cooling market by lowering their asking prices.
Between January, when the market peaked, and September, the national average asking price fell 7.2%, from $992,659 to $921,187, according to realestate.co.nz.
That shows a willingness by vendors to lower their expectations if they want to find a buyer.
But realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams said the market is cooling rather than crashing, and that we need to place the price changes in context.
“The national average asking price has decreased by around $10,000 per month since January. If this cooling continues at the same pace, the national average could be around $890,000 in December,” she said.
“Even if prices continue to trend down until Christmas, it only takes asking prices back to mid-2021 levels – a time when prices in the late-$800s were all-time highs.”
Listings up throughout the country
The decrease in demand can be partly explained by an increase in supply: the number of new for-sale listings in September was 12.0% higher than the same time the year before, according to realestate.co.nz.
Stock levels were up year-on-year in all 19 regions during September, with 10 regions seeing stock more than double and another four regions increasing by more than 85%.
“Buyers are spoilt for choice right now, and the high stock levels contribute to market sentiment favouring buyers in some of our regions,” Ms Williams said.
“The good news is buyers are more likely to find a property that supports the life they want to live now than they were a year ago.”
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