For the year ended May 2020 the median house price in the Taupo District was $480,000. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
For the year ended May 2020 the median house price in the Taupo District was $480,000. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
The Taupō district is on trend with the rest of the country, with the number of houses sold in May at around half as many as this time last year.
Data shows house prices are holding steady, however days-to-sell time has been pushed out to a 10-year high.
A RealEstate Institute New Zealand (REINZ) report for the year ended May 30 for the Taupō district shows the number of houses sold in 2020 was down 52 per cent to 42 homes, compared to May 2019 when 88 properties were sold. The median house price has gone down $10,000 to $480,000 for May 2020, compared to May 2019 when the median house price was $490,000.
The REINZ report does not give a days-to-sell figure for Taupō but states that for the entire Waikato region days to sell increased by 22 days in May.
"The current days-to-sell of 59 days is much higher than the 10-year average for May, which is 49 days."
House prices in the Waikato region produced a record median price of $598,000, with Taupō district being the only location to buck the trend with a 2 per cent drop for May.
Harcourts Taupō co-owner Mary-Louise Johns says there is a healthy level of buyer inquiry locally, nationally and internationally. She says some of the international buyers are Kiwis who pre-Covid-19 had a five-year plan to return home.
"Their returning home plans are now to 'come home sooner'," said Mary-Louise.
"We have been inundated with inquiries from prospective buyers. The international inquiries are requesting detailed comparative sales."
Harcourts real estate agents Ellie-Jane Alker and Mary-Louise Johns.
Opportunistic buyers were not in evidence and Mary-Louise said talk of a downturn in the housing market was limited to social media and not happening in real life.
"It seems to be real, qualified buyers that are actually fronting up with offers on properties. Their offers are in alignment with expected market levels."
She said the local housing market was in good health and there was still only a limited number of properties on the market.
"There is good attendance at open homes and multi-offers are a frequent occurrence," said Mary-Louise.
Banks have upped the ante for mortgage requirements, and Mary-Louise says Harcourts staff education has ensured they are up-to-date on pre- and post-Covid-19 finance requirements.
"Although the banks are advertising temptingly-reduced interest rates and loan to value ratios, the hoops that buyers were soaring through pre-Covid-19 now require more detailed investigation for approval."
Grantham Law director Dineen Grantham says she has fielded an increase in inquiries from people thinking of getting divorced as a result of Covid-19 lockdown.
Grantham Law director and family solicitor Dineen Grantham says there has been a large number of inquiries about people wanting to get divorced following Covid-19 lockdown.
"By the time we got to level 1 there was a dramatic increase in people wanting to break up," said Dineen, who has 18 years' experience as a family law solicitor.
"In most cases the net result is the family home goes on the market."
Dineen says for both parties, rehousing is a daunting prospect and in most cases the standard of accommodation decreases.
"Nationwide there has been a big increase in 'silver splitting' - people of retirement age breaking up since lockdown."
Lots of houses are on the market after couples broke-up over Covid-19 lockdown.
REINZ regional director Neville Falconer noted future disruption to the economy is coming up.
"It will be interesting to see how the market performs once election time begins, mortgage holidays end as well as the impact from the next wave of job losses."
