Election brings slump in house prices

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A $27,000 slump in median house prices in Gisborne is probably partly down to uncertainty brought on by the upcoming General Election, the Real Estate Institute says.

Latest data from REINZ shows house prices in Gisborne last month fell to their lowest point in nearly a year but REINZ regional director Phillip Searle said prices should pick up again after the election.

“Prices across the Gisborne region have fallen to an 11-month low and sales volumes have fallen by 20 percent showcasing that the market is still in the strong grip of winter and election hesitancy.

“Spring should see activity start to pick up and by the end of the year we would expect the market to return to normal.”

The median price across the region fell $27,000 (to $235,000) compared to August 2016.

“On a seasonally adjusted basis the median price fell 18 percent compared to July, indicating that the decrease in the median price is much greater than would be expected moving from July to August.

“Sales volume for the Gisborne Region dropped 9 percent compared to July, and dropped 20 percent compared to August 2016.

“On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales decreased by 17 percent compared to July, indicating that the decrease in sales count is much greater than would be expected moving from July to August.

“The number of days to sell improved by eight days in August, from 42 days in July to 34 days in August. Compared to August 2016 the number of days to sell eased by six days. Over the past 10 years the number of days to sell in August across the region has averaged 47 days. There were 11 weeks of supply across the region in August, a decrease of one week over the past 12 months.”

Nationally, all regions experienced fewer sales compared to August last year, while residential property prices across New Zealand increased by 8.2 percent year-on-year to $530,000.

Nationally, excluding Auckland, median prices increased 10.9 percent year-on-year and Auckland median prices decreased by 1.2 percent year-on-year.