Bay of Plenty coastal sales up, Tauranga volumes drop

Mount Maunganui/Papamoa sales volumes in August were up 12pc on the previous month. Photo / Getty

House sales in Mount Maunganui/Papamoa rose more than 20 per cent year-on-year last month but sales volumes in Tauranga dropped, according to REINZ data.

The August residential real estate data for Mount Maunganui/Papamoa and Tauranga shows both sales volumes and median values were up on July.

Median values for both areas were also up on August 2015.

However, property agents said there were signs that resistance was beginning to set in at some price points, with the looming introduction next month of new investor loan to value ratios (LVRs) of 40 per cent also now beginning to impact the market.

Sales volumes in August were up on the previous month by 12 per cent in Mount Maunganui/Papamoa and 8 per cent in Tauranga.

But while Mount Maunganui/Papamoa sales volumes rose 22.2 per cent, volumes in Tauranga were down 11.1 per cent, according to REINZ data.

Realty Services chief executive Ross Stanway said the disparity between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui/Papamoa sales volumes for the month was not especially significant on a yearly comparative basis.

Listing levels in Waikato/Bay of Plenty mirrored a falling trend nationwide. The region had just under 12 weeks of supply available, a drop of 30 per cent over the past year.

"Investor activity has continued to decline since the announcement of new LVR restrictions, although underlying first-home buyer demand remains solid across the region," said REINZ regional director Philip Searle.

"The shortage of listings remains acute in some parts of the region, with the limited availability of properties restricting buyer choice."

REINZ Tauranga district forum leader and Bayleys Tauranga branch manager Dickie Burman said that while agents were still getting multiple offers on good properties, they were seeing a lift in buyer resistance on pricing. "The intense heat has gone out of [the market]," he said. "But it's still pretty hot."

Greg Purcell, owner of Ray White Papamoa Beach, said his anecdotal experience was that some buyers believed the market was peaking.

"They're deciding there's a point beyond which they won't go. People are going to auctions, but there's not so much frenzied bidding to secure at all costs."

Stanway agreed there were signs that buyers were responding to the significant recent increases in certain price ranges. "There are signs buyers now are reaching a point where they know exactly what they are prepared to pay and are less inclined to increase that."

We're not seeing a huge or rapid drop off in listings and we're still getting good numbers at auctions and good clearance rates.

But there was still strong competition for houses in Tauranga's $450,000-to-$650,000 range properties, he said.

"We're not seeing a huge or rapid drop off in listings and we're still getting good numbers at auctions and good clearance rates," he said.

Priority One's Annie Hill said Tauranga was in a wonderful position because people wanted to move to the region.

"People have always wanted to move here. The difference now is we have the strong job growth - that's the real shining light."

August median house prices

• Mount Maunganui/Papamoa: $640,000, up 29.3 per cent on August 2015
• Tauranga: $554,500, up 15.9 per cent on August 2015

- Bay of Plenty Times