If you talk to real estate agents in Auckland – they will tell you a few things:
1/ There is less phone/email enquiry
2/ There are less people coming to open homes
3/ Banks are requiring a higher income threshold for borrowing – so income tested borrowing is in place and reducing buyer numbers significantly
The fact is lending restrictions are starting to bite: https://propertynoise.co.nz/2016/11/01/slower-market-here-to-stay-anz/
Mortgage registrations are down 21% because of it: https://propertynoise.co.nz/2016/10/31/decline-in-new-mortgages-sign-of-cooling-property-market/
For Barfoot and Thompson the largest Real Estate Agency in Auckland…. Sales numbers in the month fell to 778, more than a quarter lower than those in September and also a quarter lower than the average for the past three months.
The last time sales numbers fell this low in an October was in 2011, when the market was still not fully recovered from the 2007 Global Financial Crisis.
So are we ready for a crisis? When it hits it can hit hard….
As always – One person’s opinion!