NZ's housing shortage not expected to ease soon despite building boom — report

June 2, 2021

The realestate.co.nz report found housing stock was down year-on-year in every region apart from Gisborne.

New Zealand's housing shortage isn't expected to ease any time soon, according to new data. 

The latest Realestate.co.nz report for May found housing stock was down year-on-year in every region apart from Gisborne. 

At the end of May, the report said there were only about 15,000 houses available for purchase, about 29 per cent less than the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the housing stock in five regions – Northland, West Coast, Canterbury, Coromandel and the Central North Island – has fallen to record lows. 

That’s despite a 5.2 per cent increase in new listings compared to last year, spokesperson Vanessa Williams said. 

“Stock has steadily been decreasing over the last decade, and at this point it would take a flood of properties coming onto the market to reverse that trend,” she said.

“Despite a lift in new listings and incentives to encourage new builds, we’re not yet seeing enough homes listed to ease the supply shortage. This is continuing to put pressure on property prices.”

The national average asking price was $841,816 last month, up 15.3 per cent on May last year. 

Williams said the building industry was booming. However, people shouldn’t expect a flood of supply just yet. 

“The challenge is that we have had such historically low stock levels that new listings haven’t been able to make dent in the market, even with all the building happening currently,” she said.

ASB, which commissioned the housing confidence survey, called the results “as gloomy as it gets”.

New Zealand Certified Builders chairperson Mike Craig said there was “definitely a building boom at the moment”. 

“But the problem we’re facing now is supply issues,” he said. 

“Product delays mean everything has slowed down. I have jobs that were due to start in October that have now been pushed out to February, and I’ve been hearing similar stories across the industry.”

Realestate.co.nz reflects 97 per cent of all properties listed through registered estate agents in New Zealand. That gives it a representative view of the country’s property market.




SHARE ME

More Stories