Last month saw New Zealand's busiest February for home sales in 14 years

March 11, 2021

The nation saw the most houses sold for the month of February in 14 years.

The number of residential properties sold in February across New Zealand was the highest for the month in 14 years, after increasing 14.6 per cent year-on-year.

There were 7964 sales in February 2021, up from 6951 for the same month last year, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

The rise was largely fuelled by the Auckland market, in which the number of sales increased by 34.6 per cent year-on-year, from 2061 to 2775.

For the rest of New Zealand, the number of properties sold increased from 4890 to 5189, a rise of 6.1 per cent.

Nine out of 16 regions saw an increase in sales for the month of February, with an increase of 22.5 per cent (191 to 234) in Northland, 31.4 per cent more sales in Taranaki (153 to 201) and a 58 per cent increase in West Coast (50 to 79). The sales in West Coast were the highest since March 2004.

Seven regions saw annual decreases in sales volumes, with Marlborough down 24.7 per cent (89 to 67), Hawke’s Bay dipping by 22.3 per cent (265 to 206), while Gisborne and Tasman wer both down 17.9 per cent (78 to 64).

“It’s highly likely that some of this uplift can be attributed to both investors and owner-occupiers looking to purchase ahead of the LVR restrictions coming back into effect in March and the slight uplift in listings we’ve seen over the last couple of months,” REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said.

“Interestingly, sales volumes in the West Coast were the highest we have seen in nearly 17 years, with a 58 per cent increase on the same time last year. Conversations with local agents have highlighted that there has been an uplift in inquiries across the region in part due to the affordability of the West Coast but also for lifestyle reasons and that expectations are the West Coast is likely to remain busy for the next couple of months.”

Auckland’s rise was made even more incredible considering the time the region spent at Alert Level 3 in February, Norwell said.

“This is remarkable when you consider Auckland had four days of Level 3 lockdown in February and shows how adaptable both agents and members of the public are at moving to technology solutions to buy and sell houses when physical viewings are extremely limited,” he said.

“Even with LVRs coming back into effect in March, we would expect to see sales volumes continue at a solid pace over the next couple of months; but this will in part rely on a steady stream of new listings coming onto the market.”

Median prices for residential property across NZ increased by 22.8 per cent from $635,000 to $780,000 year-on-year in February, a new record high for the country. Additionally, 12 out of 16 regions reached record median prices.

Auckland’s median house price increased by 24.3 per cent from $885,000 at the same time last year to $1,100,000 – a new record for Auckland.

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