RE/MAX Real Estate Country-Wide

A Steady Market With

A Steady Market With Growing Confidence.REINZ January data: 19 February 2025The latest figures from the Real EstateInstitute of New Zealand (REINZ) forJanuary 2025 showed some positivesigns across the New Zealand propertymarket, tempered with the usualslowness of the holiday period.REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird stated, “Whilethe numbers predictably show January beinga slower month due to the holidays, sales andlistings were higher compared to January 2024,and open home volumes were strong across thecountry with a positive sentiment shown frombuyers.”As expected during the summer holidayperiod, sales were up 17.5% (from 3,212 to3,774) compared to January 2024, and weredown month-on-month by 37.6% (from 6,048to 3,774) across New Zealand compared toDecember 2024. For New Zealand, excludingAuckland, sales saw a 23.4% year-on-year rise,from 2,318 to 2,861. Notable growth in sales wasobserved in Marlborough (+62.5%) and WestCoast (+47.4%) year-on-year while all regionssaw a decrease in sales month-on-month.“When we adjust the sales figures forseasonality, we see that the year-on-yeardifference is higher than expected, reflecting ashift in buyer sentiment over the past year, fromcaution to more confidence,” Baird says.The median price for New Zealand decreasedslightly, down 1.7% from 3,000 to 0,000year-on-year. Excluding Auckland, the medianprice increased 0.9% year-on-year, rising from5,000 to 1,500.Only eight out of sixteen regions reported anincrease in median prices compared to January2024. Gisborne had the highest increases up28.2% from 5,000 to 0,000, followed byNelson with a 25.4% increase from 0,000 to0,000 – a record for this region."January is traditionally a slower month asNew Zealand enjoys its holidays. Year-on-yearJanuary shows prices holding steady. Buyersare still enjoying the choices on offer thanks torising listing numbers and significant levels ofproperty for sale. First-home buyers and owneroccupiersare still the largest groups at openhomes, with salespeople reporting investorinterest in pockets of the country. Holiday spots32

like Taupo and Nelson are also seeing interestfrom visitors from other parts of the country,”added Baird.Overall, listings nationally increased year-onyearby 21.2% from 7,347 to 8,904, the highestlevel of listings for January since 2015. ExcludingAuckland, listings rose by 21.9% compared toJanuary 2024, from 4,886 to 5,956. Northlandwas the only region that didn’t report anincrease in listings compared to last year; themost significant gains were reported in the WestCoast (+100%), Otago (+52.4%), and Gisborne(+45.7%).National inventory levels increased by 18.9%year-on-year and also increased by 10.0%compared to December."All regions are seeing an increase in stocknumbers with Gisborne, Marlborough andOtago leading the way,” adds Baird.“With vendors being realistic in their priceexpectations and meeting the market, there isa positive sentiment out there amongst agents.Steady and improving is the feedback, with thenext few months looking busier with a strongpipeline of property coming to market.”In January, there were 263 auctions nationally(7.0% of all sales), an increase from the previousyear but a sharp decrease from December, asusually happens due to the January holidays.The national median days to sell rose by 3 days,to 54 days, compared to the previous year;excluding Auckland, it increased by five, to 54days.The House Price Index (HPI) for New Zealandis currently at 3,606, indicating a decreaseof 1.4% year-on-year and 0.2% compared toDecember 2024. Over the past five years, theaverage annual growth rate of New Zealand'sHPI has been approximately 4.3%. However, it iscurrently 15.7% lower than its peak in 2021.The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand(REINZ) has the latest and most accuratereal estate data in New Zealand. For moreinformation and data on national and regionalactivity visit the REINZ’s website.33