The month of October has been disappointing in the residential property market, according the real estate firm Harcourts.The volume of written sales recorded in October by Harcourts was well down on the same month last year but the real estate agent said
The month of October has been disappointing in the residential property market, according the real estate firm Harcourts.
The volume of written sales recorded in October by Harcourts was well down on the same month last year but the real estate agent said a large number of transactions were rushed through prior to October 1 to save clients the increase on fees resulting from goods and services tax rise on that date.
Written sales in October fell by 25 percent from the same month last year in the northern region of the North Island, by 23 percent in the central North Island and by 46 percent in Wellington. Written sales fell by 41 percent in Christchurch and by 28 percent in the provincial South Island.
"Interestingly values have continued to strengthen on the whole however, with the Christchurch market being the exception -- though it has outperformed early post-earthquake predictions," Harcourts said in its MarketWatch newsletter.
The average price was down 9 percent in October from a year ago in the northern North Island, it fell 14 percent in central North Island and by 7 percent in Wellington. The average price was down 6 percent in Christchurch and by 15 percent in the rest of the South Island.
"While September and October have been disappointing, with sales volumes well down on the same period last year, a lift in activity is expected to be evident in the November and December statistics," Harcourts said.
