Property values decline for sixth straight month: QV

Thursday 7th October 2010

New Zealand property values declined for a sixth month in a row amid a "very low level of sales activity".

Values are 2% ahead of where they were in October 2009, compared to a 3.1% gain in the previous month, according to QV Valuations.

Property values are now 5.3% below the market peak in late 2007, up 0.3 percentage points from August.

"QV valuers, particularly in Auckland and Wellington, are reporting that there is a general lack of well-presented, quality properties on the market at present," Jonno Ingerson, research director, said in a statement.

"We anticipate that the current trends will continue in the coming months. While the number of new listings is likely to increase through spring and summer we don't expect sales volumes to increase dramatically."

Barfoot and Thompson data out this week showed house sales in Auckland slumped 25% last month from a year ago.

The property market has been in the doldrums this year, as burgeoning employment prospects across the Tasman lured kiwis to pack up and leave, sapping demand for new housing.

Ingerson said values were diverging across different conditions, with main urban areas stabilising while rural areas reported declining values.

Christchurch was excluded from the data after last month's earthquake meant there weren't enough sales for "statistically valid" information to be extrapolated.

The average sales price in a rolling three-month period fell to $401,968 from $407,900 from September.

Auckland area values rose 4.3% from a year earlier, down from the 5.9% gain in the previous month. Wellington area values are 0.3% above last year, down from the 2% in the previous month. Dunedin values rose 1.5%, down from the 2.7% reported last month.

Businesswire.co.nz

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