Trying to pick the current trend in the housing market cycle is a tough call. Will prices remain steady, rise or fall — and can a trend in one area of the country be applied to another? There's so many variables.
The economists over at Westpac rightly say the housingmarket cooled early last year only for a surprising winter flush to set it off again. I well remember plenty of estate agents telling me they were surprised to be so busy last winter.
This week, Westpac says the market is cooling once more. And it's something I have seen first-hand from the editor's chair over the past few weeks. The number of emails coming in from estate agents is a reliable barometer to the state of the market.
As Westpac economists write this week: "Market turnover is down, house prices are now falling in northern New Zealand, and the rate of house price inflation has slowed elsewhere, most notably in Wellington.
