Some slight cooling in the residential real estate market has
appeared in the December BNZ-REINZ survey.
BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said most, but not all, of
the measures the survey tracked showed some cooling.
Most notably, a net 13% of responding agents noted they were
seeing fewer people at open homes.
However, there had been a rise in the net percentage who felt
that buyers were more motivated than sellers.
Readings remained strong for perceptions of prices rising and
interest from investors.
''Overall, the housing real estate market is showing some
signs of flattening out but on the face of it, this could
reflect buyers needing to adjust their price settings, rather
than failing to show interest at all,'' Mr Alexander said.
The December result of fewer people going through open homes
was the weakest result on record and a sharp turnaround from
a net 30% positive in November.
The net change of -43% change was far greater than the
drop-off in December last year of 20% and could suggest that
buyers had backed away sharply from the market, he said.
Given the suddenness of the change, Mr Alexander made a
special effort to see if any of the other indicators the
survey tracked showed signs also of a decline in buyer
interest.
''The answer is some do - but not to the same degree - and
some don't.''
A still strong net 27% of responding agents said they were
seeing written sales going unconditional. That indicated
nothing sudden had happened during the month to cause buyers
to find excuses for backing out.
A net proportion of agents saying that auction clearance
rates were rising had dropped to the lowest level since
April, with a net 12% positive from 22% in November.
That supported the first indicator regarding buyers not
showing up for open homes, Mr Alexander said. The result was
only just below the average reading of a net 16% positive and
as such did not suggest any particularly great weakness in
buyer interest.
Vendors were not rushing forward. For the previous three
months, increases had been recorded in the net percentage of
agents reporting that more potential vendors were seeking
appraisals. In December, only a net 9% reported that
happening.
The average reading for the measure was a positive 15% and
the latest result could represent more of a return to
normality after three months of improving supply.
A near average net 32% of responding agents reported they
were noticing more first home buyers in the market.
''This measure has been strong since the start of 2012. But
at a net 32% positive, the latest reading is the lowest since
December last year and could suggest that high prices might
be burning off some of this young buying group,'' he said.
A net 38% of agents reported they felt prices were rising,
well above the average reading of 24% and statistically
unchanged from November.
Prices were seen overwhelmingly to be rising, with only 41 of
421 respondents saying they felt prices were falling; 192
felt prices were rising and 198 felt prices were flat.
Below-average numbers of people were perceived to be buying
because they were trading up or down, while purchasing
because interest rates were low remained a strong factor.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.