Wanaka real estate is in an interesting phase at the moment – there are a few factors that will potentially affect the Wanaka house prices in the coming months.
The July statistics have been released which have put the median Wanaka house price just under the $1.4 million mark. This has been driven by 7 sales over the median mark which were balanced by only 6 sales under the million level. This is a jump up from it being around the $1.1 mark in the previous months. Here’s hoping that with an increase in stock to the market that this will drop back down to a more realistic median price.
The listings are starting to increase. August September and November are traditionally busy sales months. There is however, what I would consider a trickle and not a flood of properties coming to the market currently. This may very well keep the prices at the higher end of the range as the demand exceeds supply. My regular catch ups with local valuers indicate that this is the key factor driving up not just Wanaka house prices, but Queenstown’s too – out of town buyers getting sick of missing out.
Sales volumes were up significantly in July – both compared to 2017 and compared to May and June this year. Section sales in Northlake totalling 45 would account for this volume.
The impact of the legislation taking all but the NZ, Australian and Singaporean buyers out of the market is also unclear. The number of buyers out there which will be excluded by this legislation is fewer than you would think. These buyers do however impact significantly on the very top of the market and will impact on some of the luxury property owners when it comes to trying to find a buyer. There will no doubt be a few buyers out there trying to secure a property within the next month, before they can’t, and this may lead to a few higher prices being paid, who knows, time will tell. Outside New Zealanders, Australians are by volume the most active in our market.
So, in short it is the same on both sides of the hill – it is a shortage of listings which is driving the prices up at the moment. Roll on spring.