However, market remains stable
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) latest data has revealed 302 fewer lifestyle property sales for the three months ended February 2021 than the three months ended January 2021.
Despite a lower number of lifestyle property sales in the February 2021 quarter, the lifestyle property market remains stable – with the latest REINZ data revealing a significant increase in lifestyle properties sold in the three months to February 2021 (2,471 lifestyle properties) compared to the three months to February 2020 (1,769 lifestyle properties). The median price for all lifestyle properties sold in the three months to February 2021 was $845,000 – $135,000 higher than the three months ended February 2020 (+19.0%).
Meanwhile, 9,244 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to February 2021 – 1,992 (27.5%) more than were sold in the year to February 2020. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $8.77 billion for the year to February 2021.
On a month-by-month basis, February sales were 32% ahead of the figures for January – with all regions achieving an increase in sales, albeit quite small in some cases.
“Market conditions remain strong, listings in many areas are constrained, and timeframe for achieving a sale is reducing,” said REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke. “Given the current level of interest rates and the consistency in the median price, the outlook for the sector at this stage is extremely positive.”
According to REINZ, 11 of the 14 regions recorded an increase in sales compared to February 2020, with Auckland (+195 sales) and Canterbury (+137 sales) recording the most significant increases. Wellington recorded the largest decrease in sales (-7 sales) in the three months to February 2021 compared to the three months to February 2020. Compared to the three months to January 2021, one region (West Coast) saw an increase in sales.
All 14 regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase between the February 2020 quarter and the February 2021 quarter. The most notable examples were in Otago (+45%), Gisborne (+39%), and Bay of Plenty (+33%) – with the smallest increase being in Auckland (+6%).
