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WELLINGTON: New Zealand's housing market remained mixed in June, with some improvement in the country's biggest city, but largely soft elsewhere, government property valuer Quotable Value (QV) said on Monday, July 11.
QV's residential house price index fell 0.9% in the year to June, after a 1.6% decline in the year to May.
The agency said Auckland, the biggest population and commercial centre, was leading the rest of the country.
"Much of the gain in nationwide values can be attributed to increases in the Auckland area. Apart from a minor hiccup in March values have increased by over 2% in greater Auckland since January," said QV research director Jonno Ingerson.
Auckland inner city prices were at a record level driven by the lack of suitable properties for sale, and the perception that buying in the area is a safe investment, he said.
The housing market has struggled to gain any momentum since the economy emerged from recession in mid-2009. The market remains 5.2% below its peak in late 2007.
The average sale price, which is not used to calculate the main index, over the three months to June rose 2.1% to NZ$412,746 (RM1.03 million) compared to a month earlier.
In Christchurch, the country's second biggest city which was badly damaged by an earthquake on Feb 22, the market in the least affected parts of the city was steady.
A government move to buy out around 5,100 houses in the city, which have been made uninhabitable by the quake, and the assessment of a further 10,000 might bring some certainty and longer term improvement to the regional housing market, Ingerson said.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which has cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low 2.5% to bolster sentiment and activity after the quake, is expected to hold rates there until early next year. — Reuters
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