Friday 9th July
QV.CO.NZ Housing Survey - June 2010
A buyers market
The results of the latest survey of the New Zealand housing market carried out by QV.co.nz shows an increase in the number of people who think that now is a good time to buy. This is in contrast to a strong sentiment that now is not a good time to sell.
As in the last survey in March there is an expectation that prices will drop over the coming 12 months, however the sentiment is not as strong. Unlike the last survey there are now a significant number of people who expect prices to rise and fewer expecting them to drop more than 6%.
Property values are still the main factor affecting people’s decision to buy or sell. Job security has increased in importance as a reason, although we don’t know whether that is because people feel more or less secure. In the March survey the tax changes yet to be announced in the budget were a significant factor in people’s thinking. Now that the budget has been and gone, and the changes are known, that has reduced dramatically as a factor in people’s thinking.
More people now believe that it is a good time to buy, and few believe that it is a good time to sell. This reflects what we are seeing in the market where in general there are plenty of properties for sale, relatively few selling, and prices sliding downwards. Buyers have the luxury of being able to take time over their decisions and they expect vendors to have their properties priced at a level that reflects the market.
A new set of questions specifically for property investors shows that while the changes to depreciation rules announced in the May budget had the most impact on them financially, it will not lead to them selling some or all of their investment properties. On the contrary, most either intend to keep their current portfolio or buy more properties. There is a clear signal that rents are set to rise, with just over half of the respondents indicating that rents would rise, mostly between 1 and 5%.
