New Zealand's median house price in March held to its record reached in February and sales activity jumped to its highest level in six years.
As well, real estate agents report a high level of inquiries from would-be buyers but claim a shortage of listings nationwide. That suggests the Reserve Bank's first tightening on the interest rate front did little to discourage the housing market.
It first raised its official cash rate from 4.75% to 5% on 20 March and then again to 5.25% last Wednesday.
Real Estate Institute figures show the median house price in March was $186,000, the same as in February, but was significantly about the $173,800 median price recorded in March last year.
The number of homes sold in March jumped to 9,742, up from 8773 in February and 6,659 in March last year. The last time the national sales activity was higher was in March 1996 when 10,056 homes sold.
March's transactions were worth $2.24 billion, up from $1.97 billion in February $1.39 billion in March last year.
Real Estate Institute president Rex Hadley says the high sales volume is in part a seasonal trend. "March is traditionally one of the most active months for real estate transactions and 2002 is no different," although clearly transactions have increased, he says. He says the improvement by 3,083 sales from March last year "bodes well for the residential housing market in 2002."
Nevertheless, he sees the current high level of inquiry being due to people trying to take advantage of current relatively low interest rates before they rise too much.
Deutsche Bank senior economist Darren Gibbs doesn't think the current level of activity will be sustained. He notes the number of house sales in March was 18% higher than the historic average, although it's still 7% below the peak reached in the mid-1990s boom.
All 11 of the regions the institute measures showed higher sales activity compared with last March.
The rise in prices was much less universal. The median house price rose in five of the regions, Auckland, Northland, Taranaki, Nelson/Marlborough, and Wellington, and fell in the other six regions compared with February.
Compared with March last year, the median price rose in eight of the regions and fell in Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Gisborne, Canterbury and Southland.
REINZ PROPERTY MARKET REPORT
TOTAL DWELLINGS MEDIAN PRICE
COMPARISONS FOR MARCH 2000-2002
| REGION | MARCH 00 | MARCH 01 | FEB 02 | MARCH 02 | | ------------------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ------------ | | Northland | 150,000 | 146,500 | 155,000 | 176,000 | | Auckland | 240,000 | 248,500 | 258,000 | 262,500 | | Waikato/BOP/Gisborne | 163,000 | 160,000 | 166,000 | 156,500 | | Hawkes Bay | 121,750 | 130,000 | 138,000 | 137,500 | | Manawatu/Wanganui | 106,500 | 106,000 | 114,000 | 110,000 | | Taranaki | 112,500 | 105,000 | 105,250 | 115,750 | | Wellington | 179,000 | 190,000 | 200,000 | 205,000 | | Nelson/Marlborough | 150,000 | 150,000 | 147,500 | 157,000 | | Canterbury/Westland | 150,000 | 149,000 | 145,000 | 141,000 | | Otago | 100,000 | 95,250 | 109,500 | 107,000 | | Southland | 78,000 | 85,000 | 85,500 | 79,750 | | NZ Total | $175,000 | $173,800 | $186,000 | $186,000 |
