HOUSE PRICES CONTINUE TO TREND UPWARDS
House prices rise 6.9% across New Zealand according to latest REINZ figures. The median house price for New Zealand rose 6.9% in February to $530,000 up from $496,000 in February 2017 according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), source of the most complete and accurate real estate data in New Zealand.
The median house price for New Zealand excluding Auckland rose even higher, seeing an 8.4% increase to $450,000 from the same time last year.
Prices in Auckland increased at a more moderate 3.7% to $858,000 from the same time last year (up from $827,000) and were up 4.6% month-on-month.
The Hawke’s Bay saw a price increase of 18.4% to a record high of $444,000 up from $375,000 in February 2017 or up 3.3% from January 2018.
Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “Median house prices increased in 14 out of 16 regions across New Zealand during February 2018 compared to February 2017, including a record high in the Hawke’s Bay. The only regions not to experience an increase were the West Coast and Gisborne which saw decreases of 10.7% and 3.1% respectively.
“The Hawke’s Bay has seen record price increases for two months in a row now, with prices having increased $26,000 since the end of 2017. Clearly the region is proving extremely popular.
Additionally, the recent announcement by the Regional Economic Development Minister, Shane Jones, that nearly $9 million will be spent to re-open the Wairoa-Napier line for logging trains will bring significant development for the Hawke’s Bay region,” points out Norwell.
“Auckland’s median price while continuing to slowly creep upwards, is clearly showing signs of moderated growth rather than the double digits we saw throughout 2016 and 2017. This is far more positive for the region as we know double-digit increases are not sustainable in the long term,” continues Norwell.
Volumes continued to show positive momentum in February with the number of properties sold across New Zealand increasing by 1.2% year-on-year to 6,373 properties.
The number of properties sold in Auckland during February increased by 2.0% to 1,600 (up from 1,568 in February 2017).
Regions with the biggest increase in sales count year-on-year were:
• West Coast – up 50.0% (45 sales compared to 30 in February 2017) – the highest number of properties sold since May 2012
• Nelson – up 25.8% (117 sales compared to 93 in February 2017) – the highest number of properties sold since March 2007
• Southland – up 9.7% (170 sales compared to 155 in February 2017).
“In February, 9 out of 16 regions saw an increase in the number of properties sold, pointing to strong regional growth in the majority of the country. Nelson saw the highest number of properties sold in nearly 11 years and the West Coast saw the highest number of properties sold in just under 6 years –so there have been some really strong localised results,” says Norwell.
“From a national perspective, we’ve seen the number of properties sold year-on-year increase for two months in a row now. It’s not quite enough data to call a trend, but with nearly 300 more houses sold for the year-to-date when compared to 2017, it’s certainly a positive sign for the industry,” points out Norwell.
Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?
A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?
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56.4% Yes!
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43.6% No, it's always been smooth flying
ALEXANDER ROAD SPEED LIMIT
Alexander Road in Trentham-Wallaceville of which 50% separates a golf course from a military encampment enclosure and the rest has mostly high fenced off industrial and residential areas on both sides, should have a 70km speed restriction.
Only a short time ago the road had a 80km restriction and was reduced to a pedestrian 50km much to the frustration of many. It has never been an accident prone stretch of road.
The several round-abouts ensure speed is reduced to 30-40km when these things occur.
I recently stayed a few days in Feilding - often given the title of the best town in NZ - and one of the lengthy main streets has a 70km speed restriction despite a predominance of unfenced residential properties on both sides.
LIVE Q&A: Financial well-being with Cat Rikihana
Today (Wednesday) we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with Cat Rikihana who is a financial mentor, educator and financial capability practitioner at Financial Freedom Trust in the Manawatū.
Cat Rikihana (Ngai Tahu) like many financial mentors around Aotearoa, works with individuals, groups and whānau to successfully navigate financial stress and hardship. Mentors work alongside whānau to increase confidence and skills in personal money management and advocate with and for clients. Cat enjoys delivering online and face-to-face workshops which provide opportunities to normalise money conversations and encourages people to make time to consider their financial well-being.
Cat is also an independent financial well-being coach, educator and indigenous life coach at Restore Wellness Network. She is a published writer and currently in the process of writing her first non-fiction book: 'A financial self-care guide for women in Aotearoa.'
She'd love to answer any questions you may have around your budgeting and spending habits, strategies for saving, retirement planning and debt. (Don't be shy, but be mindful about what you disclose!)
↓ Share your questions now and Cat will reply to your comment below ↓
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