Property prices hold steady

House prices remain same as twelve months ago but winter depression fails to materialise.

The seasonal downturn expected in the residential real estate market during the middle winter months has not been as marked as expected, with median prices and days to sell properties during June on a par with May figures according to statistics released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) last week.

"In fact, there has been a slight rise in median prices," says REINZ president Mike Elford.

"The rise from $337,000 in May to $340,000 in June puts us exactly where we were in June last year, and it's good to see the median time taken to sell properties has moved from the 53 days we saw in June 08 to 41 days last month," he adds.

However REINZ reports that the number of houses sold in June dropped to 6,040 from May's peak of 6,291.

It's not that people are not buying properties, explains Elford, but rather that the properties are not coming on the market.

People are sitting tight, both because people tend not to move house in cold weather and because of their continued uncertainty around where the market is heading, says REINZ.

Comments

[Domestic Executive]

It made me laugh to listen to the NZ Bank telling people that they shouldn't launch back into buying property otherwise our economy will go down the pan. Perhaps the Government should consider a more sensible approach to encouraging broader investments and savings. Buying property is the single most tax efficient way of saving so if you have the inclination and can afford to invest why wouldn't you.