Moderate listings, price climb forecast in Hawke's Bay homes market

A housing development between Eriksen Rd and Te Awa Ave, Napier, pictured in May this year. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay still leads the way in rise in the residential property market, although October figures were below the record high median of $405,000.

The October median of $400,000 was 18.7 per cent up on the median for October last year, although the volume of sales was down 9.4 per cent.

The median in the Hastings District rose 43.6 per cent from $280,000 in October last year to $402,000 last month, when 97 properties changed hands.

In Napier, the median dropped $5000 from September to October's $430,000, in Central Hawke's Bay there was an 8.7 per cent increase to $282,750, and in Tararua there was a 12 per cent year-on-year increase to last month's mean of $177,000.

In Wairoa, however, there has been a slump, accentuated by the lack of sales in September, with the median having dropped from $145,000 in October last year to $90,000 last month.

By comparison, the median across Auckland was $850,000, down from the $1,025,000 of October last year, while the median in the North Shore sector of the Auckland market was $1,070,000.

Despite popular belief, about 90 per cent of buyers in the Hawke's Bay market are "locals" trying to buy a home to live in, as opposed to subdued investor interest, according Real Estate Institute of New Zealand chief executive officer Bindi Norwell, who said: "Continuing buyer demand and a shortage of listings should see volume remain about the same and prices continue an upward trend."

While the median in Auckland dropped 3.2 per cent over the year, national excluding Auckland it rose 8.5 per cent. Other area apart from Hawke's Bay with increases over 10 per cent were West Coast (23.7 per cent), Gisborne (17.9 per cent), Otago (14.4 per cent), Taranaki (13.6 per cent) and Manawatu-Wanganui (11.5 per cent).