Latest data demonstrates three changes in the market
It seems the lifestyle property market in New Zealand is cooling down, with the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) data showing 290 fewer lifestyle property sales for the three months ended August 2021 than for the three months ended July 2021.
REINZ’s report showed a total of 1,809 lifestyle property sales in New Zealand in the three months ended August 2021, a drop from the 2,409 lifestyle property sales for the three months ended August 2020 (-24.9%), and 2,099 lifestyle property sales for the three months ended July 2021.
In the year ended August 2021, 9,893 lifestyle properties were sold, 2,699 (+37.5%) more than were sold in the year to August 2020, with the value of lifestyle properties sold totalling $10.56 billion for the year to August 2021.
“Sales volumes for lifestyle properties for the three months ending August 2021 reflect a distinct drop of 16.6% from the same period in 2021, but a quiet 8.3% increase from the period ending August 2019,” said Brian Peacocke, the rural spokesman at REINZ.
Read more: What’s happening with NZ property prices?
Peacocke shared that the median price in New Zealand has increased from $700,000 in August 2019 to $750,000 in August 2020, and to $940,000 in August 2021.
Irrespective of other influencing factors, REINZ claimed in its report that the latest sales data demonstrates:
- that purchasers, to date, consider lifestyle property to be a dependable and worthwhile investment;
- that constraints such as the COVID-19 induced lockdown have not seriously impacted on the willingness of people to participate in property activity; and
- (iii) that the supply-demand equation persists – shortage of property equals increase in price.
In addition, the report found that no regions recorded an increase in sales in the August 2021 quarter compared to August 2020, with West Coast (-2 sales) and Southland (-13 sales) seeing the slightest decreases.
By contrast, Waikato (-130 sales) and Auckland (-86 sales) recorded the most significant sales decrease in the three months to August 2021 compared to the August 2020 quarter. Meanwhile, compared to the three months to July 2021, no regions recorded an increase in sales.
The report also found that 12 regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase between the three months ending August 2020 and the three months ending August 2021, with the most notable examples in Gisborne/Hawkes Bay (+75.6%) and Otago (+42.6%) and the most significant decrease in West Coast (-8.9%).
