PHOTO: Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive – REINZ
PRESS RELEASE
The number of properties sold around the country for a million dollars or more during 2018 increased by 4.5% when compared to 2017 (10,615 up from 10,163). However, this figure is down significantly on 2016, when 11,648 million-dollar plus properties were sold around the country according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) Million Dollar Price Report.
In the Auckland market, the number of million-dollar properties sold during 2018 fell by -1.6% when compared to the previous year (7,888 down from 8,014). This was the lowest number of million-dollar-plus properties sold in Auckland for four years.
Looking at the New Zealand excluding Auckland picture, the number of million-dollar plus properties increased year-on-year by 26.9% (2,727 up from 2149 – an additional 578 properties).
Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “Volumes of million-dollar plus sales were up year-on-year by 4.5% across the country. This figure has been pulled down by the ‘Auckland impact’. If you remove Auckland from the picture, then the number of million-dollar plus properties actually significantly increased 26.9%, which has been largely driven by the regional growth the country has been experiencing.
Regional Breakdown
The region with the largest year-on-year increase was Marlborough which saw an increase of 90.9% – from 11 properties sold for $1 million-dollars or more in 2017 to 21 properties sold for $1 million-dollars or more in 2018. However, these numbers are inflated due to the small sample size.
13 out of 15 regions saw year-on-year increases in number of properties for $1 million plus, with Southland remaining steady, and Auckland being the only region with a decrease.
“All regions except Auckland and Southland reached record numbers of properties sold for $1 million or more in 2018,” says Bindi Norwell.
Regions with the strongest increases in the number of million-dollar plus sales year-on-year in addition to Marlborough were:
- Manawatu/Wanganui +83.3%: up from 12 to 22 properties
- Northland +62.3%: up from 69 to 112 properties
- Gisborne +50.0%: up from 4 to 6
- Nelson +45.7%: up from 35 to 51.
Canterbury was one of two regions with an annual rise in the number of properties sold for $3 million plus in 2018, increasing 140.0% (12 properties up from 5 in 2017). Wellington was the only other region with an increase, going from 5 to 6 properties.
Wellington was the only region to see an increase in the number of properties sold in excess of $5 million (from 0 in 2017 to 1 in 2018), all other regions remained on par with the numbers sold in 2017 or decreased in volume.
“Across the country, 71 properties were sold in the $5 million plus category – 63 in Auckland (compared to 76 in 2017), 5 in Otago (compared to 6 in 2017) 1 in Bay of Plenty (the same as in 2017), 1 in Canterbury (also remaining the same) and 1 in Wellington (up from 0 in 2017),” concludes Norwell.
For further information, please contact Dee Crooks, Head of Communications at REINZ, on 021 953 308.
Table 1: Number of million-dollar plus properties sold in NZ
| Region | $1m + sales 2017 | $1m+ sales 2018 | % change | $3m + sales 2017 | $3m + sales 2018 | % change | $5m + sales
2017 |
$5m + sales
2018 |
% change |
| Auckland | 8,014 | 7,888 | -1.6% | 401 | 358 | -10.7% | 76 | 63 | -17.1% |
| Bay of Plenty | 367 | 428 | 16.6% | 10 | 8 | -20.0% | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Canterbury | 344 | 373 | 8.4% | 5 | 12 | 140.0% | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Gisborne | 4 | 6 | 50.0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Hawke’s Bay | 54 | 68 | 25.9% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Manawatu-Wanganui | 12 | 22 | 83.3% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Marlborough | 11 | 21 | 90.9% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Nelson | 35 | 51 | 45.7% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Northland | 69 | 112 | 62.3% | 0 | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Otago | 380 | 461 | 21.3% | 24 | 22 | -8.3% | 6 | 5 | -16.7% |
| Southland | 3 | 3 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Taranaki | 36 | 41 | 13.9% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Tasman | 32 | 41 | 28.1% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Waikato | 267 | 356 | 33.3% | 4 | 4 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Wellington | 535 | 744 | 39.1% | 5 | 6 | 20.0% | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| TOTAL | 10,163 | 10,615 | 4.5% | 449 | 414 | -7.8% | 84 | 71 | -15.5% |