The figure surpassed the 2016 record
The number of properties sold for at least one million dollars jumped by 68.0% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
REINZ’s latest data showed 18,181 million-dollar-plus properties sold in 2020, surpassing 10,819 in 2019 and 11,619 in 2016. Excluding Auckland, the number of million-dollar-plus properties sold increased significantly by 61.5%, with 5,056 properties sold in the bracket (up from 3,131 in 2019) – a record level of sales in the million-dollar-plus bracket in a calendar year.
The number of million-dollar-plus properties sold in Auckland last year jumped by 70.7% compared to the previous year, with 13,125 million-dollar-plus properties sold (up from 7,688 in 2019) – the highest number of million-dollar-plus properties sold in Auckland since records began. It is also the first time Auckland has seen more than 10,000 properties sold in this bracket.
“When COVID-19 first hit New Zealand’s shores in Q1 2020, no-one would have predicted that the year would become a record breaker for property prices and that we would conclude the year with a 68.0% uplift in the number of million-dollar-plus properties sold,” said REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell.
“Additionally, the 2016 record was exceeded by more than 6,000 sales, and this was the third consecutive year that New Zealand has seen a year-on-year increase in $1 million plus properties sold.”
Norwell said the increase in million-dollar-plus property sales resulted from supply lagging behind demand in many parts of the country, showing the effect of the housing stock shortage on house prices.
“There has been a significant increase in the number of properties sold at the top end of the market, with a 112.7% increase in $3 million plus property sales nationally and a 71.9% increase in $3 million plus property sales outside of Auckland,” she continued.
“While the property market may have taken a slight pause in the first half of 2020 due to COVID related restrictions, the second half of the year showed signs of renewed confidence with more than two-thirds of the million-dollar-plus sales occurring in the last six months of 2020.”
