While total residential real estate commissions are estimated to have fallen by $227 million in the 12 months to March, there are indications that the slump in sales volumes that has occurred over the last 18 months may be starting to bottom out.
Interest.co.nz’s latest quarterly analysis of residential property market activity shows that while sales are still running well below where they were 12 months ago, the rate of decline has slowed markedly. In the 12 months to the end of March almost 73,000 residential properties were sold across the country, down almost 17% on the previous 12 months.
That trend was evident to a greater or lesser degree across the country, even in regions that were supposedly experiencing buoyant conditions such as Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and Wellington. While the Auckland market was particularly hard hit, with sales in the region down 24% compared to the previous 12 months, the rate of decline both nationally and in Auckland, has been steadily decreasing over recent months.
