With just over 10,000 homes on the market throughout New Zealand – the highest in nearly a decade — it's a great time to be looking for a home, a property expert says.
"It’s fair to say that spring has sprung," realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor told TVNZ1’s Breakfast today. "And the best part about that is that buyers have got some fabulous choice to choose from, especially when you look at our biggest market – Auckland."
Just over 40 per cent of those new homes that came onto the market are in Auckland.
"And if we want to go to some of the regions, tippity-top of the North Island saw a good 13 per cent increase," she said. "Head down to the bottom, Southland, which we haven’t seen much activity down there for a while, so good on you Southland for getting out there and popping your listings on the market. And then our capital city Wellington just saw over 13 per cent year-on-year increase in new listings.
"So if you’re looking to buy, there’s plenty of fresh stock out there."
Because sellers are often looking to buy another home, Ms Taylor said she believes the numbers indicate that confidence in the property market is high.
In Auckland, there are roughly 2500 homes on the market with a search price of $700,000 or less – the cost of a typical KiwiBuild home.
"So there’s certainly a number of homes out there that are happy for the first homebuyers to have them," Ms Taylor said.
Realestate.co.nz saw 855,000 unique browsers last month, which is equivalent to summertime levels when searches are usually at their peak, she said. It’s a hopeful indication that the flat market could be coming to an end, she suggested.
"Supply and demand is certainly there, so we’ve got a healthy property market out there," she said.
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