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Spring bounce fails to arrive for property market

The number of residential property sales edged up last month from August, but the tally was still the weakest for a September month for at least a decade.Figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) put the number of sales last month at 4

NZPA
Thu, 14 Oct 2010

The number of residential property sales edged up last month from August, but the tally was still the weakest for a September month for at least a decade.

Figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) put the number of sales last month at 4323, just up from 4287 in August, but well down on the 6464 a year earlier although only a little weaker than the 4499 in September 2008.

The median price of $350,000 last month was unchanged from that of August, or from that of September 2009.

The national median number of days to sell remained steady at 43 for September, the same as the previous month, but it was 10 days longer than the 33 days in September 2009.

The REINZ monthly housing price index dropped 0.3 percent in September, while in the three months to September housing prices as measured by the index were down 1.2 percent. The index was 1.3 percent lower than a year earlier.

REINZ spokesman Bryan Thomson said that while sales continued to remain subdued across the country, some of that could be attributed to uncertainty over the rise in GST and tax cuts, and also shocking spring weather.

"We would expect to see a pick up in the market in coming months as warmer spring and summer weather generally brings an influx on new property listings onto the market providing more choice for buyers," Mr Thomson said.

The median price of $350,000 for the past two months was $20,000 up on September 2008 when the market was at its worst in the midst of the global economic crisis.

The impact of the Christchurch earthquake in early September showed up, with the 396 property sales in Canterbury/Westland down 227 from the previous month and less than half that recorded for September 2009.

The price index, which is basically an average of sale prices for common groups and is seen as a more accurate reading of price trends, was up 2.3 percent in Auckland from a year earlier.

In Wellington it was down 0.3 percent, in Christchurch it was down 5.5 percent, while for the category of other North Island suburbs the index fell 3.7 percent for the year, and in other South Island suburbs it was up 0.7 percent.

NZPA
Thu, 14 Oct 2010
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Spring bounce fails to arrive for property market
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