Bayleys Whanganui owner John Bartley said his agents had received multiple offers on several properties and there were increased sales in the last quarter of 2023.
“We’ve seen more movement in commercial as well as residential properties as business confidence appears to have increased in Whanganui,” Bartley said.
“I don’t predict that we will see price increases like we did in 2021 but there is certainly upward movement.”
Bartley said the outlook for 2024 was positive for the Whanganui property market.
“Buyers will still be cautious due to increased living costs.
“Whanganui is not unique but I think we’ve been less impacted than other places in terms of living costs. That makes it an attractive place to buy a home.
“We have seen a fairly even mix of local buyers and those relocating from other regions.”
Anthony O’Leary says there was an upsurge in inquiries about new homes towards the end of last year. Photo / Bevan Conley
Bartley said the new Government’s amendment to the bright-line property rule - due to be introduced on July 1 - would have a big impact.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced in December that the tax on selling a property within 10 years, introduced by the previous Government, would revert to the previous two-year timeframe, making property-buying more attractive to investors.
Stonewood Homes Whanganui director Anthony O’Leary said there had been a steady demand for new houses in 2023, followed by an upsurge in inquiries towards the end of the year.
“The building industry follows the real estate market in terms of demand,” he said.
“Our customers over the past year have been the more established, older customers who can tick all the boxes to afford a new home.”
O’Leary said younger, first-home buyers were less able to get into the market because rising living and interest costs had made it “that much harder”.
“The pace has been quite good from our perspective because our suppliers have been able to get things to us when we need them and we’ve been able to meet the demand,” he said.
“It would be great if everyone who wanted a new home could afford one but that would put too much pressure on the building industry.
“If you’re under pressure to build 100 houses within an unrealistic timeframe, that’s when things start to fall over and you get those supply issues.”
Nationally, the housing market has been a wild ride over the past three to four years and interest rates have played a key role.
When rates dropped to record lows in early 2020, it triggered a market boom as home buyers rushed to get loans in a frenzy that drove prices to record highs in 2021.
Then, when the Reserve Bank began raising rates to fight inflation, it put pressure on home buyers and led to 18 months of falling house prices.
Most pundits believe interest rates have now stabilised and house prices are predicted to rise.
Independent economist Tony Alexander told the Herald’s Ben Leahy he expected prices to jump by up to 10 per cent this year and he believed prices would continue to increase over the next few years.
“Welcome to the upward leg of the house price cycle. It usually runs for about six years,” he said.
However, Westpac and Kiwibank economists are forecasting 7-8 per cent rises this year, while analysts at CoreLogic expect slower, “patchy” growth of around 5 per cent.
Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.
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