New Zealand’s housing market is defying predictions of a slump, for now at least, as thousands of citizens living abroad flock home to the Covid-free nation.
Home values gained 7.4% in June from a year earlier, only slightly down on the 7.7% annual growth rate in May, government-owned property research company Quotable Value said on Wednesday. Prices rose 1.3% over the past three months, taking the average to NZ$738,018 ($484,000).
The government has said more than 26,000 people have been through the mandatory two weeks of managed isolation at the border since the end of March. The vast majority are returning citizens or residents as the border remains closed to foreigners.
Interest Rates
To cushion the economic impact of the pandemic, the central bank has slashed interest rates to unprecedented lows and lifted restrictions on low-deposit mortgage lending. Still, with the economy in recession and unemployment rising, the property market is unlikely to remain so buoyant.
In largest city Auckland, home to a third of New Zealand’s five million people, house prices climbed 5.4% in the year and 1.5% in the quarter, lifting the average to NZ$1.08 million. Capital city Wellington saw gains of 10.4% from June last year.
READ MORE VIA BLOOMBERG
