Plenty of homes for sale: Agency
A leading local real estate agent says there is an abundance of properties on the Bay of Plenty market - despite new figures pointing to a shortage of new listings.
"We have had quite a bit of stock on the market in this town," Harcourts Bay of Plenty managing director Simon Martin said.
Data released yesterday in the Realestate.co.nz Property Report recorded 10,365 new listings on the national market last month - a 10 per cent increase from July and a 2.4 per cent rise year-on-year.
The report revealed a 15.4 per cent decline in new Bay of Plenty listings for August compared to the same time last year. The average asking price fell nearly 4 per cent to $408,180 from the previous month.
"We haven't seen a big drop off in stock, I know it's quite different to what's happening in some parts of the Auckland market," Mr Martin said.
The Auckland market remains firmly in favour of sellers as asking prices reach five-year highs, the report showed.
"Looking at the figures overall, our listings are coming in at the same rate they have for some time," Mr Martin said.
While sales volumes had increased, it was still very much a "buyers' market" in the Bay of Plenty.
Nationally, a surge in new listings in August gave the nation's property market a healthy kick start for spring.
While national asking prices remained steady at $430,443, the Auckland region surged to $585,482 - the highest level in five years. The asking price in Wellington and Canterbury fell in August, with Canterbury recording the lowest levels since January, down 4.8 per cent to $374,732.
Taranaki saw the biggest drop, down 6.7 per cent to $280,560.
With the "spring splurge", some regions were experiencing significant lifts in new listings.
The Central North Island, Gisborne, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Otago all reported year-on-year increases of more than 20 per cent. Wairarapa saw the largest boost, with a 40.1 per cent increase.
Bay of Plenty reported the biggest drop off, with 15.4 per cent fewer listings than the same time last year.
Paul McKenzie, marketing manager of Realestate.co.nz, said in addition to its high asking prices, Auckland had registered a record low for inventory - the amount of time a region's housing stock would take to sell - at just 18 weeks.
"The sellers' market that has persisted for much of this year has not abated, but buyer interest remains high, so the strong level of new listings should provide some healthy selection for spring," Mr McKenzie said.
The report follows this week's release of the QV Quarterly Property Report, which measures fluctuations in sales volumes and prices. It found the Auckland property market is again leading the way nationwide, while most provincial sale prices were stagnant or declining. APNZ
By the numbers
- $408,180 - the average asking price for a property in Bay of Plenty
- -3.8 - percentage change from July
- $430,443 - the average asking price for a property in New Zealand
- 0.3 - percentage change from July
- 426 - new Bay of Plenty listings in August
- -15.4 - per cent change from August 2011
- 10,365 - property listings nationwide in August
- 2.4 - percentage change from August 2011
