NZ: Slow and steady housing market - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ note that the New Zealand’s REINZ house sales fell 2.7% in May (sa, ANZ estimate), taking annual sales growth to -9.5%.

Key Quotes

“Nationwide, house prices rose 0.4% in May. Auckland performed a bit better than the rest of the country, up 0.4% m/m, following a 2.0% fall in April. The ex-Auckland index rose slightly. Markets remain tight outside of Auckland and Canterbury, but loosened slightly.”

“We expect the ruling out of the capital gains tax and recent falls in fixed mortgage rates to help stabilise the market over the next year (but given volatility in these data, it’s a bit too early to confirm this), with the market remaining subdued overall.”