Gisborne median house prices creep up

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THE Gisborne residential property market is in “good heart”, said industry commentator Philip Searle, after a January during which the most houses sold here since January 2007.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures show 36 Gisborne houses were sold last month, compared to 32 during the same month last year.

That increase of 12.5 percent was surpassed only by Nelson, up 27.9 percent, Canterbury, up 18.1 percent, and Tasman, up 15.8 percent out of the 14 regions covered in REINZ reporting.

Gisborne’s median price was $283,000, up 4 percent from 12 months ago.

That compares to a national median price of $520,000, an Auckland median price of $820,000 and a national median price, excluding Auckland, of $432,500.

Mr Searle, director of the Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, Waikato region of the REINZ, said the Gisborne market was continuing its steady increase with a median price of $283,000.

“When you compare this with the January 2009 median of $212,000, one can see the trend.

“Last month, one of the areas with the highest increase in the REINZ house price index for New Zealand, which measures the changing value of property in the market, was Gisborne/Hawkes Bay, up 13.7 percent year-on-year.”

Mr Searle said the Project Gisborne auction held by LJ Hooker this month, in which 21 properties sold, was evidence the local market was still buoyant.

Bindi Norwell, chief executive of REINZ, said January sales volumes across New Zealand had risen for the first time in seven months.

“January can often be a quiet month for the industry as people spend much of their time at the beach or the bach," she said.

“However, clearly the warmer weather has helped sales, as it’s the first time we’ve seen a positive year-on-year sales increase in seven months.

“There were some really positive figures from around the country, with 11 of 16 regions experiencing an increase in sales when compared to the same time last year.

“Gisborne saw the largest number of properties sold in January since January 2007.”

The median number of days to sell a property nationally increased by five days from 41 days in January 2017 to 46 days in January 2018.

That is the highest median number of days to sell a property since February 2012. It takes 43 days to sell a house in Gisborne.

Regions with the biggest increase were West Coast (plus seven days to 159), Taranaki (plus six days to 56) and Gisborne (plus three days to 43).

The only region with a decrease in the number of days to sell year-on-year was Northland, which was down three days to 45.