New Zealand house sales hit a massive 10-year low in January - but prices in Wanganui at least remained steady.
Only 35 houses sold in Wanganui during January, according to the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand report. There were about 1100 houses on the market, institute spokesperson Ross Watson said.
He'd predicted January sales wouldn't top 40, but said the fact that the median or middle price in the range had remained firm was a positive sign. It was $178,000 this January and $179,500 last January.
Values had increased during the past four years though. The median value of a house in Wanganui city went from $125,000 to $178,000.
Wanganui had a few more sales in January than December - 35 houses compared to 30. The median price for January beat the December one too - $178,000 compared to $160,000.
The months of December and January always had fewer house sales, Mr Watson said, because people were occupied with other things. He expected the momentum to pick up slightly during February, March and April.
He predicted a consistent but not spectacular next 12 to 18 months. Sale prices would remain steady, but may disappoint people who had their expectations raised by the real estate bonanza of the last few years.
"Wanganui will come out fine in the end."
Most of the institute's figures combine Wanganui and Manawatu. Manawatu/Wanganui property values dropped four percent during the last year. But that was minor compared to some regions.
The biggest drops were in Northland - 16 percent, and in Southland, 22 percent. And values dropped 10 percent in both Nelson/Marlborough and Otago.
The only region to have a rise, albeit a small one, was Taranaki, where values rose one percent.
Houses are also taking longer to sell - an average of 68 days in January in the Manawatu/Wanganui region.
The median value of sections in the region was $90,000, compared to the New Zealand median of $180,000.
Nationally, the median house price for January was $325,000.
In Wanganui city the median price was $178,000, and when the city price was rolled in with those from the wider Wanganui region it dropped to $160,000.
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