What happened in the property market in May?

The average asking price for a New Zealand house hit an all-time high with stock at an all-time low for May 2016, in a market that favors sellers.

Market statistics released today by Realestate.co.nz show the May national average asking price reached $570,971, up 7.2% from the same time last year.

The number of new properties that came onto the market nationally dropped 7.1% from the last month. It’s a classic supply and demand situation and right now it’s definitely a sellers’ market. Heightened real estate activity has been evident across both the North and South Islands.

The Central Otago/Lakes region and Nelson in the South Island are notable stand-outs, with Wellington, Waikato and Auckland in the North Island continuing to feature strongly.

Auckland is also suffering a fall in inventory levels, with listings down 9.2% on the same time last year. “A fall of close to 10% in listings in one year in a city the size of Auckland is very significant. At the same time Auckland asking prices have risen in the past month by 2.1% (compared with April 2016) albeit off a high value base,” Vanessa Taylor says.

Auckland asking house prices have risen 10.9% compared to the same time last year (May 2015).