It's déjà vu for New Zealand's property market as price trends for the month of January much the same as they were for December and November, the latest OneRoof / Valocity figures show.
Nationally, the data shows the median value growing less than one percent month on month and just 5.5 percent year on year to hit $598,000.
Market conditions in Auckland and Christchurch continued to soften, with both cities recording drops in the number of sales and little to no movement in house values.
Auckland's median value for January was $898,000, down 0.11 percent on the month before and up just 0.22 percent on January 2018, while the median value of properties in Christchurch was $443,000 - down 0.23 percent on December and on January 2018.
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New Zealand's smaller urban markets continue to experience the biggest growth in prices, with January's stand-outs being Manawatu/Whanganui (up 20.3 percent year on year), Otago (up 14.6 percent) and Dunedin (up 12.9 percent).
Across the country, sales volumes remain significantly down (almost 20 percent year on year). Building consent numbers are slightly down on last year, they are above levels seen during 2015/2016 - the height of the property boom.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said: "The data strongly suggests that 2019 will be a repeat of 2018. Auckland market activity is soft, and small drops in sales prices, as evidenced by Barfoot and Thompson figures released earlier this week, indicate that the city's property market is slowly swinging in favour of buyers.
"However, it's highly unlikely the country's biggest market will suffer a house price collapse, such as experienced Sydney and Melbourne. An undersupply of residential housing and strong demand support current values and future growth.
"Smaller urban centres continue to enjoy strong growth, but it is important to note that the lifts are from a comparatively low base, and that the actual dollar amount that represents is relatively small, although still a big deal for homeowners and buyers in those markets."
James Wilson, Valocity director of valuation and innovation, said: "The 'wait-and-see' mentality that crept into the market early last year is starting to take hold, with many market participants holding off making decisions until there is clarity around the global economy and touted changes to taxation around investment properties."
Wilson added: "Despite historically low interest rates supporting demand levels, market confidence has plateaued."
The figures show that first-home buyers are still the biggest purchasing group, representing 28.8 percent of new mortgage registrations, (up 5.3 percent month-on-month), with investors and movers continuing to slide.
Vaughan noted: "There is also a strong upward tick in the number of refinancers, which suggests many property owners are seeking to capitalise on the competitive mortgage deals offered by the banks or are looking to make improvements to their existing home rather than upsizing.
Wilson added: "The fact that mortgage registrations to investors and movers continue to decline isn’t unexpected given current market confidence levels and the ‘wait and see’ mentality evident in the market."
