Investors snap up nearly half of all Auckland houses sold in past three months

A new report shows Auckland investors bought 44 per cent of all houses sold in first three months of 2017. Photo/Jason Dorday

Investors have snapped up nearly half of all the houses sold in Auckland in the past three months, new figures reveal.

Meanwhile first home buyers are being increasingly shut out of the Auckland market, accounting for fewer than 1 in 5 of all house purchases.

A new report released by property analysts CoreLogic shows Auckland investors bought 44 per cent of all the houses sold in first three months of the year, while only 19 per cent were bought by first home buyers.

It was a similar trend across New Zealand with the number of first home buyers dropping to 20 per cent compared to previous months and the number of investors rising to 39 per cent nationwide.

Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford said the figures showed speculators were killing the Kiwi dream of owning your own place.

"While National has been in Government, speculators have increased their market share from under 35 per cent to 44 per cent [in Auckland]; first home buyers have gone down from over 25 per cent to 19 per cent," Twyford said.

The average house value rose 11 per cent nationally in the past three months, CoreLogic said.

But prices in previously hot markets such as Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch dropped slightly. Tauranga remained flat at 1.1 per cent.

Meanwhile Dunedin and Wellington bucked the trend with prices up 5.3 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively compared to the previous three months.

CoreLogic senior research analyst Nick Goodall said all buyers had been affected by Reserve Bank lending restrictions except for cash investors.

"Yes, there have been some investors taken out of the market just like there has first home buyers, but not all investors are out of the market which is kind of what we expected to see."

He said the most poignant thing was the number of sales, which he believed was linked to the loan to value (LVR) changes.

The volume of houses being sold dropped for the eighth time year-on year nationally and the 17th month in Auckland.

"The number of buyers and the number of sales happening in the market have reduced significantly and it's pretty bad nationwide, but certainly in Auckland," Goodall said.

Building consents had also dropped in most areas indicating a decline in new houses being built, according to the report.

The latest figures follow revelations this week, revealed in the Herald, that speculators flipping properties on Auckland's rampant housing market had pocketed $70,000 per transaction last year - nearly $2000 a day.

A CoreLogic report on the practice of flipping homes found nearly 300 Auckland houses were on-sold for profit last year within three months.

They gave local speculators a total capital gain windfall of $25 million and daily profit $1848.

Nationwide, more than 450 properties changed hands in quick-flick sales, with a total before-tax profit of $35m.