Bindi Norwell
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PHOTO: Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ

The number of properties sold around the country for one million dollars or more during 2019 increased by 1.0% with 10,869 million-dollar plus properties sold (up from 10,761 in 2018), but it still hasn’t surpassed the 2016 record when 11,661 million-dollar plus properties were sold, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) Million Dollar Price Report.

Looking at New Zealand excluding Auckland, the number of million-dollar plus properties sold increased significantly by 17.4% (3,211 up from 2,736 – an additional 475 properties).

In Auckland the number of million-dollar properties sold during 2019 fell by -4.6% when compared to the previous year (7,658 down from 8,025) – the lowest number of million-dollar-plus properties sold in Auckland since 2014.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “2019 is the third consecutive year that Auckland has seen a year-on-year decrease in $1 million plus properties sold, dropping each year from its peak in 2016 with 9,634 properties sold for $1 million plus.

“However, outside of Auckland it’s a different story, as we’ve seen a 17.4% increase in $1 million plus property sales. This is a result of demand exceeding supply in many parts of the country and shows the effect that the shortage of housing stock is having on house prices,” continues Norwell.

“There has been a significant increase in the number of properties sold at the top end of the market, with a 26.8% increase in $3 million plus property sales and a 50% increase in $3 million plus property sales outside of Auckland,” points out Norwell.

“While the Auckland market may have cooled in the first 9 months of 2019, the final quarter of the year showed signs of house prices picking up, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out in terms of the number of $1 million plus house sales in 2020,” says Norwell.

Regional breakdown

The region with the biggest percentage increase in number of properties sold for one million dollars or more was Gisborne, with a 133.3% increase from 2018 (14 properties up from 6 – an additional 8 properties). However, these numbers do appear more inflated due to the small sample sizes.

11 out of 15 regions saw year-on-year increases in the number of properties sold for $1 million or more in 2019 – with all 11 reaching new record highs. Taranaki, Marlborough, Auckland and Northland were the only exceptions, with year-on-year decreases.

Regions with the strongest percentage increases in the number of $1 million plus sales year-on-year in addition to Gisborne were:

  • Hawke’s Bay: +88.2% (from 68 to 128 properties – an additional 60 properties)
  • Southland: +33.3% (from 3 to 4 properties – an additional 1 property)
  • Wellington: +27.0% (from 758 to 963 properties – an additional 205 properties)
  • Nelson: +21.6% (from 51 to 62 properties – an additional 11 properties).

When looking at the number of properties sold for $3 million or more in 2019, Wellington saw the largest percentage increase, growing from 6 properties in 2018 to 13 properties in 2019 (a 116.7% increase year-on-year).

Other regions that saw an increase in the $3 million plus category were:

  • Waikato: +75% (from 4 to 7 properties – an additional 3 properties)
  • Bay of Plenty: +62.5% (from 8 to 13 properties – an additional 5 properties)
  • Northland: +50% (from 2 to 3 properties – an additional 1 property)
  • Otago: +4.6% (from 22 to 23 properties – an additional 1 property)

In addition to these regions, Gisborne saw two properties sold for $3 million plus during 2019, the first time the region has had a property sale within this category.

Auckland not only decreased in the number of sales in the $1 million plus category, as it also showed a 12.9% decrease year-on-year in the number of $3 million plus properties sold in 2019 (from 371 to 323 properties – 48 fewer properties). There was also a -10.6% decrease year-on-year in $5 million plus properties sold in Auckland in 2019 (from 66 to 59 properties – 7 fewer properties).

“There are a number of factors behind the rise in the number of million-dollar plus properties sold including demand versus supply, increased regional investment, increased consumer confidence levels, a strong agricultural sector, good employment levels and an overall good economy. Additionally, we’ve seen more first time buyers in the market who tend to be purchasing at the lower end of the market, which then lifts the overall market up.

“While it’s still very early days, going forward we expect that the first half of 2020 will continue in a similar pattern unless some of the underlying fundamentals start to shift,” concludes Norwell.

ENDS

Table 1: Number of million-dollar plus properties sold in NZ

Region$1m + sales 2018$1m+ sales 2019% change$3m + sales 2018$3m + sales 2019% change$5m + sales2018$5m + sales2019% change
Auckland80257658-4.6%371323-12.9%6659-10.6%
Bay of Plenty42849816.4%81362.5%12100.0%
Canterbury3763842.1%1210-16.7%13200.0%
Gisborne614133.3%02n/a000%
Hawke’s Bay6812888.2%000%000%
Manawatu-Wanganui242920.8%000%000%
Marlborough1916-15.8%000%000%
Nelson516221.6%000%000%
Northland110106-3.6%2350.0%000%
Otago46252814.3%22234.6%53-40.0%
Southland3433.3%000%000%
Taranaki4131-24.4%10-100.0%000%
Tasman41434.9%10-100.0%000%
Waikato34940516.1%4775.0%01n/a
Wellington75896327.0%613116.7%13200.0%
TOTAL10,76110,8691.0%427394-7.7%7471-4.1