Our take on the latest Real estate statistics (Fri 11 Sept 2020)
House sales rose 25%pa in August
Auckland house sales up 44%pa in August
House prices up 10%pa in August
The key numbers...
- Sales volumes continue to rise and were up 25%pa in August.
- Sales have climbed each month since June, but overall sales volumes are still down 12%pa since the Level 4 lockdown in April.
- Strong interest in Auckland saw sales grow 44%pa in August, the fastest of any region, despite being in a Level 3 lockdown for over half the month.
- House prices are growing faster as well, up 10%pa nationwide. The fastest growing regions were Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, both up 15%pa. The North Island is showing greater heat, with prices in the South Island rising slower than the national average, with the softest growth in Otago, up just 3.8%pa.
Number of houses sold
3 month annual % changes
...and our reaction
- The housing market continues to outperform expectations, and recent house sales growth is doing a good job at filling in the gap caused by Level 4 lockdown.
- House prices have not only grown, but picked up the pace in recent months, underscoring the strong demand present in the market.
- Heat in Auckland’s housing market is curious considering their recent predicament. Auckland house prices went through a period of decline in early 2019 which helped pick up sales in the latter part of 2019 and may still be encouraging buyers.
- Low borrowing costs combined with strong population growth from returning kiwis are key drivers of strong activity in the housing market.
- The mortgage holiday has now been extended out to March 2021, originally intended to end in September. This extension will help some households and businesses through months of tougher economic times, but there is concern that many might find themselves in the same economic strife in March only carrying more debt to pay off.
Latest updates
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