Six days of lockdown, 1100 fewer sales

PHOTO: Whilst Auckland had the largest percentage of sales, it also appeared to be one of the most affected regions, with sales down 80 per cent – 109 properties sold, down from an average of 534

Six days of level four lockdown in March meant 1100 fewer residential property sales, the Real Estate Institute says.

It has released data for the month showing that Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington experienced the biggest declines in activity.

There were 480 properties sold nationwide in the first six days of lockdown.

“Analysis of March sales data across the country shows that for the first three weeks of the month, between 1750 and 1950 properties were sold each week,” Real Estate Institute chief executive Bindi Norwell said.

REINZ reveals true impact of 6 days of March Level 4 lockdown on real estate sales

“However, in the final week around 1100 fewer sales occurred as a result of the alert level four lockdown coming into effect, that is approximately a 62 per cent decrease on what we would have likely seen otherwise.”

Norwell said the sales that happened during the last week of March were likely to have been those that had already been negotiated, or had offers waiting, beforehand.