More Wairarapa house listings needed

Property Brokers regional manager Guy Mordaunt said Wairarapa sales numbers and prices had been increasing for the past six months. PHOTO/FILE

House sales are up in Wairarapa according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand and real estate bosses say more houses are needed for sale.

Sales increased from 61 in December 2014 to 84 last month, according to the REINZ figures. The median price of a Wairarapa house increased 11 per cent to $273,000.

Property Brokers regional manager Guy Mordaunt said sales numbers and prices had been increasing for the past six months. That was a result of increased confidence, buyers accessing KiwiSaver funds to buy homes, and people from the cities drifting to the provinces.

High-end sales - often to people from Auckland and Wellington - were pushing prices up. Investors were back in the market contributing to sales volumes.

People were buying all over Wairarapa, said Mr Mordaunt.

"Volumes across the whole province are up massively," he said. "It's every town, every place, every price range from what we've seen ... The market is good."

Mr Mordaunt said there was a lack of stock throughout Wairarapa in all price ranges.

The shortage had pushed pushed prices up. February was traditionally the biggest month for listings, but it would have to be "a hell of a listing month" to replenish stock.

Andy Scott, principal of Professionals Patrick and Scott Real Estate, said sales and prices had been increasing since about October. January had been a good month, despite usually being a quiet time.

Mr Scott agreed listings were becoming harder to get, particularly for residential properties. He expected listings would pick up.

"There's a lot of people out there who have been wanting to move for five years but there's been nothing in it for them so once the prices catch up they'll start looking to upgrade."

The national median price of $465,000 was up $15,000 or 3.3 per cent on December 2014.

The median price, excluding Auckland, was $379,000, up $28,000 or 8per cent on the same time last year and a record high. Auckland's median price rose $92,000 to $770,000.

Figures showed 7313 dwellings sold in New Zealand last month, up 3.5 per cent on December 2014.

Ms Milne said regional markets had shown noticeable increases in median price over the past six months.

Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough and Otago all reached new record median prices in December.

Northland recorded the largest increase in sales volume at 39 per cent, followed by Waikato/ Bay of Plenty at 30 per cent and Taranaki at 27 per cent.