New listings rise may herald a strong Spring housing market

New listings of houses available for sale rose 9% in August from July in seasonally adjusted terms and were up 3% on August last year, according to data compiled by www.realestate.co.nz which accounts for about 95% of all listings by real estate agents in New Zealand.

The 10,120 new listings in August brought the total amount of inventory for sale to an average 36.7 weeks worth of sales, down from the long-term average of 41 weeks.

“The property market is now showing all the signs of gearing up for a much stronger Spring season than has been seen for a number of years,” says www.realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm.

“The market is very firmly parked as a sellers market with inventory levels at lows not seen since 2009.” Nationwide, 12 out of 19 regions now have inventory levels below the long-term average.