Rotorua median house price up $77k in five years

Rotorua's median house sale price has soared by $77,500 in the last five years.

Rotorua's median house sale price has soared by $77,500 in the last five years - with the largest spike coming in the last 12 months.

A five-year trend of Real Estate Institute of New Zealand sales figures show in June 2013 the median price for a Rotorua property was $277,500.

In June 2017 the median house price was $355,000, a nearly 28 per cent increase from 2013.

The majority of that increase was in the last 12 months, with prices rising 24.6 per cent from $285,000 in June 2016 to $355,000 last month.

However, while prices continue to rise, the number of houses being sold has dropped dramatically over the last year.

Just 81 houses were sold in the city last month, a 54.7 per cent decrease from June last year.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand spokeswoman for Rotorua and First National principal Ann Crossley said the market was "feeling different".

"The drop in volume sold was not unexpected. There is a different feeling in the market. Some of it has to do with limited stock to sell but there are other factors influencing the market.

"Elections can throw a bit of a wobble in the market, we haven't seen that yet but that could impact the market in the next few months.

"There is still interest and we are still getting multi offers on some first home buyer-type properties but the activity level has dropped."

Ms Crossley urged house hunters to buy now.

"There's no better time to buy, after the last peak in 2007 we saw a drop but I don't think we will see that again. The increases may start to slow down but they won't go backwards.

"We are in recovery mode, things are getting more steady compared to the last 18 months which went beyond just positive increases to crazy climbs in price."

Bayleys Rotorua manager Beth Millard is not reading anything into the drop of house sales.

"I don't think the market is easing, we're still getting phenomenal prices for properties, it's just lack of stock is leaving people with less options.

"Investor activity has eased off a bit so we are seeing a few more first home buyers getting onto the ladder which is cool.

"There is some serious heat in the higher end of the market, and still some heat in the middle band - but that is the area where the supply is not meeting demand."

Harcourts Rotorua principal real estate agent Hielke Oppers said the decrease in sales was too big to be attributed just to seasonal changes.

"Last year there was a real hype around property and people were worried about missing out so they were rushing to buy houses, not necessarily doing their due diligence.

"Now people are taking a more balanced approach and many are waiting for things to level out.

"On top of this our number one issue is that there is a serious shortage of properties so buyers don't have a lot of options."

Mr Oppers said property was selling "for a whole lot more" than it was a year ago.

"I think it will slow, we won't continue to see these crazy increases, but it certainly isn't going to stop."

In the wider Bay of Plenty, the number of days to sell eased by three days, from 38 days in May to 41 days in June.

The number of days to sell eased by six days compared to June 2016.

Over the past 10 years the average number of days to sell during June for the wider Bay of Plenty region has been 59 days.

As of yesterday there were 210 properties listed on realestate.co.nz in the Rotorua district.

Of that, 32 had asking prices below $300,000. Another 46 were priced between $300,000 and $450,000.