New house price stats offer ‘good perspective’

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

House prices here have taken another tumble, new data from the real Estate Institute (REINZ) shows.

Focusing on the Gisborne region, REINZ chief executive Jen Baird said the median price in Gisborne decreased 11.9 percent annually to $630,000 in March.

Owner-occupiers remained the most active buyer pool while first home buyers and investors continued to struggle with securing finance.

“Unlike most regions in March, Gisborne saw an increase in its sales count — up 9.1 percent year-on-year.

“Levels of inventory are down 8 percent and new listings also saw a decrease of 43.9 percent — the largest decrease of all regions, perhaps tipping the scales of supply versus demand, something we haven’t seen in quite some time.”

Median prices across the country decreased 12.9 percent over the year, from $890,000 in March 2022 to $775,000 in March 2023.

Bayley’s Gisborne director Simon Bousfield said while there had been a decrease in median price, the March figure could be deemed a strong figure for the region.

“The average monthly median price in the 12 months to April 23 was $621,000.”

For the 13 months prior, in the year ending April 2022, when the market could be deemed at its peak, the average monthly median was $637,272.

“Finally, (this offers) a good perspective on the current median. For the 12-month period three years prior to the April

figure, the average monthly median was $397,373.

“The increase in sales count reflects a market still with willing buyers and sellers present, and we have seen a good number of new listings come through the Bayleys office over recent weeks, so the March decrease may have been a reflection on what we had experienced as a region prior to those stats.”

Ray White Gisborne director Shelley Donaldson said the latest results were as expected.

“March is generally a good month for sales numbers and it’s positive to see Gisborne had an increase on the number of sales from March last year. I suspect this is partly due to the hangover of Cyclone Gabrielle and sale deadlines being pushed out from February through to March.

“While we have more stock on the market compared to this time last year, we have less stock compared to six months ago. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as we head towards the traditionally slower winter months.

“The median sale price decrease shows there are some really good buys out there for those who are ready to act.

“Unless you are selling a property which was purchased in the last two years, owners are generally still coming out on top and when you’re buying and selling in the same market, it doesn’t matter if prices are up or down, it’s all relative.”