Pressure in the property market in Otago continues with real estate agents and those looking to sell their properties being knocked back by low median prices and fewer overall sales last month.
A Dunedin real estate agent, who did not want to be named, said you only had to look at the number of sales agents in Dunedin compared with the number of sales last month to see there was a problem.
One hundred and thirty-one properties were sold in Dunedin in June between an estimated 300 real estate agents, down from the 202 properties sold in June 2007.
Real estate businesses and sales people were trying to save money by asking customers to pay for advertising up front, a move often unpopular with customers, he said.
Of the 131 houses sold in Dunedin in June, 100 were priced between $200,000 to $300,000, with only one over $600,000.
A small number of agents were making most of the sales, with others struggling to get one sale a month, he said.
Dunedin real estate agent John Cutler told Radio New Zealand the more than 35% drop in sales was making it difficult for those selling houses.
There are 439 licensed agents in Otago, although not all of those would be actively selling property.
There are more than 18,500 real estate sales licences nationally.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures for June showed the median house price in Dunedin dropped from $259,000 in May to $244,600 in June.
In June last year, the median price was $240,000.
Quotable Value figures for the past year showed property values had decreased by 4.3%.
In the Central Otago Lakes district, the median house price rose from $490,000 in May to $514,000 in June.
Sixty-one houses were sold, down from 91 in June 2007.
Institute Otago branch president Stephen Johnston said the number of Dunedin sales had dropped slowly since December, apart from a rise in February.
The number of days taken to sell a house had risen to a median of 50, about double the time in June last year.
Confidence in the property market was low, but he expected spring would stimulate the market.
Institute Central Otago spokesman Adrian Snow, of Queenstown, said the resort town appeared to be going against national trends.
The median house price in Central Otago also increased from $420,000 in May to $440,000 in June, although the number sold was down significantly from the 41 in May to 22.
Mr Snow said June was usually quiet for property in Central Otago and prices were under "downwards pressure".
Arrowtown reported a "very active month", with good buyer inquiry but few properties for sale, he said.
Property developers in Queenstown were facing a "significant change" with an oversupply of apartments.
"Few projects are able to continue as the financing and credit world continue to sort out their woes and, until they do so, there appears to be almost no funding even for good, well-planned and feasible projects."
