House price growth climbs as number of new listings plummet

The rate of house price growth is picking up, as the number of new property listings decline during lockdown.

Quotable Value’s (QV) rolling three-month average house price index to the end of September rose 3.6 percent, which is faster than August’s growth rate of 3.3 percent.

The annual growth rate was down 0.3 points to 26.3 percent, with the national average value now at $977,456, while the average house price in Auckland was up nearly a quarter on a year ago to $1.39 million.

“Ongoing lockdowns are continuing to impact the number of fresh listings, particularly in Auckland and this has possibly contributed to another strong month of value growth, with buyers continuing to vie for limited stock,” QV general manager David Nagel said.

However, Nagel said there was evidence to suggest that some of the heat would come out of the market in the coming months.

“We’re hearing anecdotal evidence from agents that appraisal enquiries are on the rise in many locations – a great signal that spring might finally provide the listings we’d normally expect.”

This would provide some welcome relief for house hunters, Nagel said. The Reserve Bank’s decision to raise the official cash rate and introduce tighter lending restrictions, combined with interest deductibility changes on investment properties kicking in from October, could slow the rate of house price growth, he said.