Property market resurgent despite COVID-19

Even a global pandemic can’t impact the worth of well-placed brick-and-mortar! The real estate market in New Zealand has defied all expectations and remained remarkably resilient, even with COVID-19 changing every other aspect of life.  Demand remains high, prices keep growing, and everyone from first home buyers to investors are still jumping on the property train.

Here’s the breakdown:

Barfoot & Thompson record best July sales in 5 years

Everyone from media pundits to bank economists were expecting a downturn in the property market as a result of lockdown, but sales across New Zealand have remained surprisingly buoyant. In fact, Barfoot & Thompson recently released a report that showed that they had had their best July sales in the last 5 years.

“Demand was so strong that you have to go back to the height of the last property sales cycle to see turnover and values of equivalent levels,” explains Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“Normally as we approach a General Election the market goes a little quiet as buyers take a ‘wait and see’ approach, but even this event is not holding back activity.”

Prices up across the country

Sales volumes are one thing, but what about actual prices? Current homeowners have come out on top there as well, with the REINZ report for July 2020 showing that prices in every region had increased year-on-year. Four regions even saw new record median sale prices (Waikato, Gisborne, Manawatu/Wanganui, and Taranaki). Auckland’s year-on-year median sales prices, most notably, are still up 11.5% compared to the same time last year and are holding steady (a drop of 0.1%) compared to the previous month.

“Economists and property experts across the country will be keeping an even closer eye on the housing market now we’ve moved back up the Alert Level system. If the same pattern occurs as did during the last lockdown, we would expect to see prices hold again post lockdown – although time will tell,” explains Bindi Norwell, REINZ CEO.

It seems that even a global pandemic can’t keep the property market down! Real estate continues to prove itself as an excellent wealth store and generator, even when times are hard.

If you’re interested in getting into the property market with a home freshly built and tailored to your needs, get in touch with the expert team at Golstruct Homes today.