According to the latest property report from realestate.co.nz, for the month of May, New Zealand’s housing stock — the number of residential dwellings for sale — has risen 22.2% since this time last year.
Stock was up in all but two regions across the country and the Otago region grew by 22.8% with 892 residential dwellings for sale — 31.4%, or 293 of those, were new listings.
But LJ Hooker Dunedin managing director Jason Hynes estimated the number of properties on the market, for Dunedin and other surrounding areas and sections, had bounced between 700 and 750 properties pretty consistently over the past 12 months.
The 22.8% increase reported by realestate.co.nz would have a lot to do with Central Otago and "a lot less to do with Dunedin", and stock levels in the city could have fluctuated a maximum of between 5% and 10%, he said.
Last year, Mr Hynes said they had noticed the market had strengthened in the back end of the year compared with the first half.
While this year had been pretty stable so far, he expected the back half of 2024 would see an increase in demand for property, as people anticipated interest rates hopefully trending downwards over the next six to 12 months.
Meanwhile, most of the 19 regions sampled saw "minimal fluctuations" in average asking prices last month, the report said — with the Otago region being no exception.
The average asking price for residential properties in the Otago region dropped by 2.6% from this time last year, and by 0.2% since April, to $595,914.
Compared nationally, the country’s average asking price dropped by 1.6% year on year and by 0.8% month on month.
It remained "almost unchanged" for nearly a year and a half, fluctuating between $860,000 and $890,000 since November 2022, the report said.
Mr Hynes said he was not surprised by the figures and this was a "fairly nominal change".
"We’re in a fairly average Dunedin market and not heavily weighted in favour of either buyers or sellers really."
