WELLINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Median prices for residential property across New Zealand increased by 25.2 percent from 659,500 New Zealand dollars (464,181 U.S. dollars) in July 2020 to a record 826,000 New Zealand dollars in July 2021, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
The median house price for New Zealand excluding Auckland increased by 23.3 percent from 557,500 New Zealand dollars in July last year to a new record of 687,500 New Zealand dollars in July 2021.
New Zealand's largest city Auckland again underpinned the strength in the New Zealand median, reaching a record median house price in July, up 28.0 percent from 918,000 New Zealand dollars in July 2020 to 1,175,000 New Zealand dollars in July 2021.
"House prices have continued to rise across the country as every region saw a year-on-year increase from July 2020. The last two months have shown early indications that the rate of growth is starting to ease, however, it is too early to say whether this is the usual winter easing we would normally see or if the government's intervention in the market and signalled changes to the OCR (Official Cash Rate) are starting to take effect," said REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird.
"The strength of the market has again been reflected in the REINZ House Price Index which reached a new high on the index nationally. Every region across New Zealand reached a record level in July, indicating the underlying value of property is holding strong and will likely do so for a few months yet," Baird added.
New Zealand's house prices hit new record highs in the last several months in a row despite the pandemic, while record low interest rates boosted demand for housing and credit. As the housing demand kept high, the supply touched low. In some regions, inventory levels were at lowest point ever. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.42 New Zealand dollars) Enditem
