REINZ & Tony Alexander Real Estate Survey: Market in a holding pattern

PHOTO: Tony Alexander. FILE

For the majority of the indicators we gather in each month’s survey, there has been little change from last month. The market is in something of a holding pattern with fewer people attending open homes and auctions, investors continuing to back away from making fresh purchases, but first home buyer numbers holding steady.

All indicators we track are at below-average levels suggestive of the market cooling, except one. The net proportion of agents saying that they are seeing more people seeking appraisals of their property’s market value stands at +27%. This is well above the average since April last year of just 9%.

This may be an early sign that listings will be improving shortly to a degree over and above what one would expect with the approach of summer and hopefully the reopening of Auckland. If so, this would be in line with what one would expect to happen with mortgage interest rates up strongly over the past two months. In fact, the now most popular term of three years involves an interest rate near 4% which is where the rate was in April 2019 before the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate 0.75% that year.

For more information, please see the report: Tony Alexander_Report_November_2021