Christhchurch Property Trends
Property values in Christchurch declined by 1.9% over the past year (calculated over the three months ending August 2009 in comparison to the same period last year), a substantial improvement on the 5.5% annual decline reported in July. The average sale price for the city increased slightly from to $342,993 to $344,401. Values in Christchurch are down 7.6% since the market peak.
The figures are showing a fifth consecutive month of recovery in Christchurch’s residential property market, indicating a period of consolidation heading toward the summer months. These numbers still need to be treated with caution however.
Suburban Christchurch has held well, with all suburbs showing an improvement year-on-year. The market is showing clear segmentation with the level of activity strongest in the under $350,000 market, closely followed by the $350,000 to $500,000 price range. Local agents report a shortage of listings which is putting pressure on properties currently on the market and consequently we are a seeing healthy sale prices. The auction process also appears to be providing strong results. However, I am fairly confident that this represents a small bubble in the market and is nothing more than a volume-related issue for the short term
QV expect to see things soften slightly as the spring and summer months bring more listings to the market. Overall there has been an improvement in market sentiment, although buyer behaviour is still cautionary with job security and the ability to service debt being key factors for some folks at present. Looking forward we anticipate a more traditional spring and summer market
Source QV
From where I sit I can see the market seems to be in a very edgy state. There is definitely a fair bit of movement happening and plenty of buyers out there wanting to lock into the market when there is cheaper money available and lower prices of houses compared to the prices 2 years ago. Bt how long do you think this seriously will last for.]
Take a deep breath. Look at the fact that the OCR is not going to stay low. The cost of borrowing isn’t getting any cheaper any more, household debt is still high. There is increasing pressure being put on the export market because of the high kiwi dollar and there are many other factors that mean that the housing market potentially has a lot to worry about.
If you lock in now I feel that you will be safe from the harder times that may be ahead. But if you wait too long it will be harder and this will price the first home buyers out of the market. When the first home buyers become priced out of the market there will be problems with the economy. This will mean that older people are going to be the home owners of the future and the people migrating to New Zealand will also benefit, but the dollar will hinder that as well.
There is too much uncertainty out there at the moment to say that a rebound is happening. If you look at the facts it is clear to see that the sales volume is increasing and that the median is on the way up. But be cautious about the future woes that lie around the corner. If you want to act do it sooner rather than later.