Hawke's Bay house sales down almost 20pc

July's national median rose 8.1 per cent. Photo / Glenn Taylor

House sales in Hawke's Bay last month were down almost 20 per cent on the same time last year, new figures reveal.

Latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (Reinz) figures show house sales in Hawke's Bay in July dropped 19.8 per cent from 227 to 182 year-on-year, while the median house price fell $7750 to $267,250 from the previous July.

House prices in Napier rose 6.1 per cent to $313,000 compared with the previous year. The number of sales dropped from 103 last June to 73 for the same period this year. Hastings' house prices rose from $250,000 to $263,000 year-on-year, and sales slipped from 79 to 67.

Leaders Hastings director Elanor MacDonald said Reserve Bank measures were holding the local market back.

July last year saw 20 house sales under the $200,000 mark, compared with 15 this July - likely a result of the Reserve Bank's restrictions on low equity loans and rising interest rates.

A shortage of listings didn't help either. "The number of houses available to buy is very low. There's not a lot of choice".

The number of Hawke's Bay properties coming onto the market had been sluggish for a year.

"Our prices have remained flat since 2008 so people aren't gaining the equity that they might have in the past to be able to move. Those people are staying put."

The number of houses sold nationally in July fell 13 per cent compared with the same time last year to 5893, but were up 2.3 per cent from June.

July's national median rose 8.1 per cent - $31,000 - from the previous July to $416,000, but was 2.6 per cent lower than in June.

Last October the central bank introduced restrictions on high loan-to-value mortgages to take the steam out of the housing market in Auckland and Christchurch. Since then governor Graeme Wheeler has embarked on a tightening cycle, starting in March, which has lifted the official cash rate to 3.5 per cent.

Reinz chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said Reserve Bank measures and the election were likely influencing buyer behaviour.