Drop in multimillion-dollar properties sold in New Zealand

The number of properties being sold for more than one-million-dollars has dropped across New Zealand.

New data released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) reveals that the number of million-dollar homes sold in the first half of 2019 was an 11.2 percent decrease on the first half of last year. That is 628 fewer homes over the million-dollar mark, down from 5591 to 4963.

The biggest decline was in Auckland which saw 722 fewer million-dollar houses sold, but when that is taken out of account, the number of million-dollar properties sold increases by 6.7 percent nationally.

This charge was led by Gisborne which saw a 166.7 percent jump, Manawatu/Whanganui with a 114.3 percent leap, Hawke's Bay which increased 47.4 percent, and Tasman with a 16.7 percent rise.

"We typically expect to see Auckland performing relatively well in our Million-Dollar Price Report, so it's interesting to see a -17.3 percent drop in sales of million-dollar plus homes so far this year," said Bindi Norwell, chief executive at REINZ.

"However, when you look at the bigger picture, it aligns with the shift we've been seeing over the past few months as Aucklanders continue to search for more affordable properties and lifestyles in various regions and median prices in the region have stabilised."

The number of Auckland million-dollar properties sold has declined.
The number of Auckland million-dollar properties sold has declined. Photo credit: REINZ.

The data also tracks houses sold for more than $3 million. Nationally, 174 houses were sold in this category, a decrease of 26.3 percent.

In Auckland, 150 were sold in the first half of this year, down 26.8 percent. The biggest decline in this category was Canterbury with a 71.4 percent decline.

Only 29 houses sold for more than $5 million, down from 48 in last year's first half. Of those, 28 were in Auckland. One was in Wellington.

Newshub.