Property Report: House buyers lack confidence

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There has never been a greater proportion of people who think it is a bad time to buy a house than now, according to the November ASB Housing Confidence survey.

According to the survey's findings, the drop in sentiment is apparent outside Auckland, although sentiment in the Super City remains low.

It says expectations of house price increases, as well as higher debt servicing costs, appear to have subdued survey respondents' sentiment around buying a house.

The latest loan-to-value ratio restrictions could also be playing a part, says the report with investors across the country requiring a 40 per cent deposit to buy an investment property.

The upside could be that the slowdown may give some first-time buyers a fighting chance to enter the property market.

However, the bank says buyers may remain cautious given recent house price appreciation and are likely to be wary of perceived changes in borrowing costs.

Breakdown of the net quarterly figure for New Zealand:

• 10 per cent say it is a good time to buy, while 35 per cent say it is a bad time. (It was 13 and 33 per cent respectively last quarter).

• 42 per cent say it is neither good nor bad (was 41 per cent) and 13 per cent don't know (13 per cent).

In Auckland, sentiment was steady with a net -33 per cent thinking it was a good time to buy (more people think it's a bad time to buy.) Outside Auckland, a net -24 per cent thought it was a good time to buy (from -16 per cent last quarter) in the North Island.