Home transfers surge to close out 2020

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The number of home transfers surged in the second half of 2020, according to latest Stats NZ figures.

Home transfers, including sales, rose 53 per cent to 5,919 in Auckland during December 2020, compared with the same month in 2019, while nationally they rose 40 per cent to 19,224.

"December was the fourth month in a row when Auckland home transfer numbers were at least one-third higher than the same month in 2019, following a sharp drop in April during the national Covid-19 lockdown, said property statistics manager Michael Heslop.

Heslop said recent highs in home transfer numbers could be linked to several factors, including a catch-up from Covid-19 and the rise in new home building.

But Stats NZ said it was not currently possible to put a number on how many home buyers were returning New Zealand citizens as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of November 2020, more than 50,000 Kiwis had already returned home to escape the pandemic overseas.

While property transfers often involve a sale, they can also include marriage settlements, and boundary or trustee changes that don't involve a direct sale or purchase.

Nationally, there were 152,532 home transfers in the year ended December 2020, up 5.1 per cent from 2019.

"The number of home transfers in the second half of 2020 was up 23 per cent from the same period in 2019, more than making up for the 14 per cent decrease in the first half of the year that was impacted by Covid-19," Heslop said.

The proportion of home transfers to people without New Zealand citizenship or resident visas was 0.4 per cent in 2020, down from 0.5 per cent in 2019.

"Overseas home buyers remain largely absent from the market following a law change in 2018 banning the purchase of most homes," Heslop said.