Local Market Sees an Increase in First-Home Buyers
Tuesday 30 April 2019
The NZ market has seen an interesting first quarter for the 2019 calendar year. The number of first-home buyers now equals that of investors with both groups accounting for nearly a quarter of all sales. Given investors have historically held a much larger market share; it’s good news for first-home buyers.
A number of factors will have contributed to this, for first-home buyers the ability to utilise KiwiSaver funds for deposits, an increase in lending availability for over 80%, low OCR and a pragmatic approach to their ‘wish list’ (ie) property features, location, price range have ensured a high number of first-home buyer purchases. Conversely, investors have been taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to the market, especially regarding the proposed Capital Gain Tax. With the recent announcement that this will not be adopted, it is expected that the investor market will likely gain increased confidence.
Volumes across the country have decreased with the Nelson region seeing close to a 20% drop. Unsurprisingly, this reduction in the availability of property continues to influence rising house prices (excepting Auckland). Several regions have experienced record median prices this quarter.
REINZ March statistics record the median sale price for Nelson at $552,500 and Tasman at $606,000 an increase of 9.4% and 6.3% respectively on this time last year. Both regions have increased by just over 33% from three years ago.
At Summit we are continuing to achieve premium prices for extensively marketed, well presented and well-priced homes. With the Summit Weekly now being delivered directly to 97% of all households in the Nelson/Tasman region, we can provide our clients with unparalleled marketing exposure that ensures their property gets seen.
