Subj : Property price growth 'losing steam', dropping in some areas
To   : All
From : News
Date : Thu Jun 13 2024 01:02 pm

By 1News Reporters
5:00am

The property market is continuing to recover, with prices still generally
rising after a slump in 2022 - but that recovery is "losing steam", CoreLogic
says, with falling values in some areas over the past three months.

CoreLogic said prices declined in 221 out of 938 suburbs analysed nationwide
by at least 1% between April and June.

Prices fell by at least 5% in 10 suburbs over that time.

The data "highlights an emerging dip in market momentum", the property
analytics company said.

CoreLogic NZ's chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said growth has been
losing momentum since March - and that's been evident in both more affluent
and more affordable areas.

"On the higher end, Takapuna in Auckland, and Onemana and Tairua in Thames
Coromandel saw value drops of 5-6%," he said.

"Suburbs within more affordable price points like Fordlands in Rotorua and
Mataura in Gore District saw values fall by 7-9%."

Trade Me data echoes CoreLogic
In a statement, Trade Me also confirmed that property prices were "falling
across the board".

"New Zealand's property prices have recorded a decrease of 2.3%
month-on-month, bringing the average asking price to $857,800," the company
said in its Property Price Index for May.

"Both supply and demand are up month-on-month, up 16% and 7% respectively in
May."

Trade Me spokesperson Casey Wylde said the figures marked a second
consecutive month-on-month decline.

"Year-on-year prices continue to show a small increase of 0.9%, maintaining
an overall upward trend for the fourth month in a row," Wylde added.
"However, the pace of growth appears to be slowing following a peak in March
at 2.2%."

Did anywhere buck the trend?
CoreLogic said 253 suburbs had gains of at least 1% during the surveyed time
frame - and values went up by at least 5% in eight of those suburbs. Davidson
said parts of the West Coast in particular had value gains recently.

"If we broaden out to a 12-month horizon, Cobden and Runanga, both in Grey
District, were the top two suburbs for growth, at 16.9% and 13.1%
respectively," he said. "The median values in these two suburbs still sit at
around $300,000 or less."

Trade Me said "Gisborne was the only region to experience month on month
price growth" in their figures, up 5.2% in May.

What about the main centres?
Auckland property owners and would-be property owners, take note.

"While a solid portion of Auckland suburbs have seen median property values
tick upwards annually, the market has been pretty clearly losing steam over
the past three months," CoreLogic said.

Prices dropped by at least 1% since March in 86 of Auckland's 199 suburbs
analysed, while just 25 suburbs had prices rise by 1% or more in the same
time.

"Herne Bay remains Auckland's most expensive market with a median value of
$3.41m and Auckland Central was the most affordable with a median value of
$540,000."

In Wellington, the market has also "lost speed" over the past few months,
with 30 suburbs out of 94 down by at least 1% since March.

"Seatoun remains the most expensive suburb ($1.74m) while Wellington Central
is the cheapest ($502,100)."

But Christchurch "showed market strength", with only "tentative signs" that
"momentum has faded a little over the quarter".

"Kennedys Bush is the priciest suburb ($1.71m) across Christchurch, while
Phillipstown the cheapest with a median value of $451,600."

What's likely to happen next?

Davidson said: "Overall, many suburbs have seen a recovery since the troughs
over the first half of 2022, but the most recent few months have seen some of
that momentum slow and even reverse.

"All in all, the latest suburb-level figures confirm the market's recent loss
of momentum, and 2024 remains on track to be a pretty subdued year," he said.

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