Auckland suffered a collapse in real estate sales last month, with the number of transactions in the city dropping to 2367, from a high of 4013 in March 2021.
Across New Zealand, the number of residential property sales fell 33.5% from 10,151 in March 2021 to 6752 last month, according to the latest figures from the Real estate Institute of New Zealand.
While there was 17.7% increase in sales from February, seasonally adjusted figures show a decrease of 5.2% from February to March.
Every region saw an annual decrease in sales, with the exception of Tasman and Marlborough, which were up 15.7% and 8% respectively.
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REINZ chief executive Jen Baird said March sales figures were weaker than expected, with upwards pressure on property prices easing and the number of properties on the market and days to sell increasing.
She told OneRoof: “Buyers have more time and more selection – and that’s particularly good news for first home buyers.
“There’s lots of talk of prices going down, and in this part of the cycle people will meet the market. Others won’t sell if they don’t have to, so that eases the downturn.”
She added: “People are very much in the market. We’re not seeing an exodus.”
The market’s firm switch away from auctions last month – just under 20% of properties sold under the hammer this March, compared to 34% last year - also meant that properties were taking longer to sell.
REINZ chief Jen Baird says auctions are still the best way to sell. Photo / Supplied
That switch was particularly marked in Auckland, where auctions dropped from a whopping 51.5% of sales last March to just 29.4% this year.
But Baird said that auctions were still the most effective way of selling.
“It gets buyers quickly. There’s a deadline,” she said.
“Clearance rates are down because finance is taking longer for people to sort finance, but [in an auction] everyone understands where the price is at.”
Baird said the key change in the market was the number of properties for sale. Nationwide, there are now 25,659 properties for sale, 32% more than this time last year.
Auckland's 10,736 listings are at levels last seen in the bottom of the market dip in March and April 2019, despite a 10% drop in the number of new properties being listed in March.
The national inventory of 25,659 properties for sale matches figures last seen in May 2019.
Martin Cooper, managing director of Harcourts Cooper & Co, said that in his North Shore patch listings were at a record high.
“People have 1600 properties to choose from,” he said.
“Last year there were only 1000. In the North Shore catchment, about 1400 listings is the optimum level - that’s when people feel comfortable.”
Harcourts Cooper and Co managing director Martin Cooper says there are more listings to choose from in his patch. Photo / Ted Baghurst
He added that homeowners were no longer risking buying their next home before they sold their old one, as they did last year, and now had the added worry of this week’s increase in interest rates.
His agency’s auction clearance rates were close to 50% this week. “People still want to buy, but banks are making it so hard. And agents are seeing what’s happening at auctions, so they’re not so keen.
“That said, the market all needed to slow down, it was going too fast.”
He added that prices on the Shore were down 5% to 10% on last year, but pointed out that would peg them back to June levels “and if you’re hanging on to a place for 10 years, that won’t matter”.
He expected that the April market would bring more of the same and is forecasting a quieter winter than usual.
“Now’s a good time to buy, with the highest level of choice, especially if you can fix interest rates,” he said.
