New data shows bad news for buyers, with a record-breaking end to 2019

PHOTO: VIRGINIA WOOLF/STUFF There are fewer houses listed for sale, and sellers want higher prices for them.

New Zealand’s property market rounded off 2019 firmly in sellers’ hands, new data from property listings website Realestate.co.nz shows.

It experienced a record national average asking price of $703,780 in December and record lows in new listings and total homes available for sale.

Spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said it was the first time the site had recorded all three milestones in one month.

“There have been years where we have seen a combination of two, but never all three. Low stock, teamed with high asking prices sees us close out the decade as a strong sellers’ market,” she said.

There were 24.5 per cent fewer homes available for sale last month than in December 2018 – at 18,230 nationwide.

That is compared to a high of nearly 60,000 in April 2008.

Taylor said immigration could be creating the shortage. “With our population growing at a rate of approximately 60,000 people per year over a 10-year span, significant demand for housing is likely to be putting pressure on our property market.