PHOTO: REINZ & Tony Alexander Real Estate Survey: Improving pattern now evident
Almost all of the indicators which we report on here have shown increasing strength or decreasing weakness in the residential real estate market around New Zealand over the past month. Some measures have now been improving for two months, and some are back to levels of strength seen late last year.
For instance, a net 3% of agents report that they are seeing fewer investors stepping forward to sell their property. This is the lowest reading since late-November and well away from the net 12% who in late-April said they were seeing more investors looking to sell. There is no wave of investor selling underway.
That may help explain why this month a net 53% of agents have reported that prices are rising in their area compared with a net 32% last month. And a gross 60% now report that they are seeing buyer FOMO (fear of missing out) compared with 51% late in May and 49% two months ago.
There is still a high net 52% of agents saying that they are seeing fewer investors in the market. So the policy changes from the government and Reserve Bank have definitely cooled the fervour of investors. But underlying strength in the market is continuing and we can even see evidence of easing worries that prices will fall. This may partly be because almost a record gross 82% of agents are reporting that buyers have concerns about a shortage of listings.
For more information, please see the full report HERE: Tony Alexander Report July 2021