Wellington house market holds up

Stalling house sales in December led to a fall in the property cycle according to Mike Pero Mortgages, though the sector remained buoyant after a torrid 18 month period.

The Mike Pero Mortgages-Infometrics Property Cycle Indicators, which measures the housing market through a combination of the number of houses sold, changes in price and the time taken to sell, dropped to 6.68 in December from 7.34 a month earlier as a slowing property market was unable to take advantage of rising prices.

A Property Cycle Indicator value of -10 shows a strong downturn, while +10 shows a strong upturn in the housing market.

"Although sales activity showed signs of softening, the median house price rose $5,000 from November to $360,000," said chief executive Shaun Riley.