House asking prices rise in Southland, data suggests

Southland is one of just four regions where the average asking price for residential properties increased from October to November, data from realestate.co.nz shows.

Southland’s average asking price increased 2.5% in the month from October to November, while the only other asking price increases were in Bay of Plenty Nelson and Bays, and Coromandel.

In the year between November 2021 and November 2022, Southland saw a 7.9% spike in the average asking prices, which rose from $492,000 to $531,000, the data shows.

Invercargill’s Ray White Real Estate general manager Lachie Shannon expressed surprise the data showed asking prices rising in Southland.

His company was instead seeing vendors being more realistic with their price expectations in a bid to ensure their properties sold. Ray White sold more average priced properties in Southland and perhaps more premiums priced properties were going to market which upped the average asking price, he said.

Realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Williams said the average asking price nationwide peaked at nearly $993,000 in January 2022 before falling below $900,000 in November, and it’s expected to be around $890,000 by the end of December. New listings nationwide, including Southland, have dropped.

There were 216 new listings that came onto the market in Southland in November 2022, compared to 249 in November 2021 – a 13.3% drop year-on-year.

Shannon was again was surprised by those figures.

‘‘We are seeing an upswing in the number of listings.’’

Nationwide, new listings were down by 26% in November 2022 compared to November 2021, Williams said.

Inflation, interest rate increases and fears of a looming recession were all factors impacting the property market and the dip in new listings came as the official cash rate [OCR] rose for the ninth consecutive month.

Kiwis seemed more hesitant to put their homes on the market in the current climate, Williams said.

‘‘Rising interest rates mean less credit is available for Kiwis looking to buy. As a result, we have seen house prices trend downwards, likely impacting those looking to sell.’’

Nationwide the market was continuing to slow, with properties generally staying on the market longer than they did a year ago.

But she said demand remained steady – the number of people searching for property at realestate.co.nz increased by more than 5% between October 2022 and November 2022.

There were still good opportunities for buyers and sellers in the current market, but sellers may need to adjust their price expectations and be prepared to negotiate, she said.

The national average asking price was still up by more than $200,000, or 31% in November compared to November 2019, she said.