A new optimism has emerged, though tempered with a note of caution as to what the near-term future holds
The house price index in July has shown the property market's resilience after the COVID-19 lockdown, according to Quotable Value (QV).
QV's July 2020 House Price Index (HPI) revealed a marginal increase in property values, up by 0.2% over the month. Compared to the 0.2% lower national index in June, the latest figure shows that the market continues to recover from the impacts of the lockdown.
“In these variable times, the three-month measure of the index is illustrating a more complete picture of value movements across the country, with nationwide values inching up only 0.4% over the slightly longer period, which begins around the time NZ moved out of lockdown level four – when it was very difficult to transact property,” said the report.
Read more: Report reveals drop in Southland property prices
Economists and other experts have released positive forecasts for the property market as the country recovers from the pandemic.
However, CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall warned about the uncertain future of the country as significant support by the government and banks does not have much longer to run.
“Anecdotal evidence is suggesting the share of people unable to resume paying their mortgage repayments is relatively low, and the latest NZ Activity Index (NZAC) has shown economic activity in June essentially returned to the same levels as last year, a remarkable recovery from the level four lockdown in April,” Goodall said.
“The Reserve Bank's next Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), to be released on 12 August, is the next key date on the calendar, but it is unlikely to spring any surprises, given the plethora of economic and property market measures which have returned to some kind of normality post lockdown.”
