Find out which regions saw an increase in sales
The New Zealand lifestyle property market seems to be cooling down, with the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) data showing 44 fewer lifestyle property sales for the three months to October 2021 than for the three months to September.
Overall, New Zealand had 1,645 lifestyle property sales in the October 2021 quarter, a dramatic drop from 2,788 lifestyle property sales for the October 2020 quarter (-41.0%) and 1,689 for the September 2021 quarter.
During the same quarter, REINZ found that the median price for all lifestyle properties sold was $951,902 – $178,552 higher than the three months ended October 2020 (+23.1%).
For Bare land lifestyle properties, the median price sold in the same quarter was $470,000 – $69,500 higher than the three months ended October 2020 (+17.4%). Meanwhile, the median price for Farmlet lifestyle properties sold in the same quarter was $1,215,000 – $280,000 higher than the three months ended October 2020 (+29.9%).
In the year to October 2021, REINZ reported 9,170 lifestyle properties were sold more than in the year to October 2020, with the lifestyle properties sold totalling $10.16 billion.
Read more: QV: Average house price exceeds $1 million for the first time
The REINZ found no regions that recorded an increase in sales in October compared to the same month last year, with West Coast (-17 sales) and Otago and Southland (-34 sales each) observing the smallest decreases. Meanwhile, Waikato (-266 sales) and Auckland (244 sales) recorded the most dramatic declines in sales in the three months to October 2021 compared to the three months to October 2020.
The report also showed that 13 regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase between the three months ending October 2020 and the three months ending October 2021, with the most notable examples being Southland (+53.3%) and Gisborne/Hawke's Bay (+46.4%). By contrast, Canterbury (+4.5%) and Manawatu/Wanganui (+16.4%) saw the slightest increases.
While the lifestyle property market seems to be slowing down, the residential property market appears to be on fire, with the average residential property value exceeding $1 million for the first time despite the recent COVID-19 lockdowns, according to the latest Quotable Value (QV) data.
For the three months to October 2021, the average home value increased by 5.3% nationally, up from the 3.6% quarterly growth in September, with the national average value now sitting at $1,002,153.
