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Data released today by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows there were seventy-six more lifestyle property sales (6.2%) for the three months ended December 2023 than for the three months ended November 2023.
Overall, there were 1,297 lifestyle property sales in the three months ended December 2023, compared to 1,331 lifestyle property sales for the three months ended December 2022 (-2.6%), and 1,221 lifestyle property sales for the three months ended November 2023.
5,433 lifestyle properties were sold in the year to December 2023, 1,377 (-20.2%) less than were sold in the year to December 2022. The value of lifestyle properties sold was $5.98 billion for the year to December 2023.
Shane O’Brien, Rural Spokesman, at REINZ says the Lifestyle property market ended the year on a positive note with $432 million of sales, up from $411 million year on year.
“The positive finish to the year paralleled the with a more positive residential market in late 2023 as buyers once again moved between the two markets.”
“There was also an increase in the sale of bareland blocks, with 93 sales up slightly since 2022. The drop in the median sale price was seen as buyers adjusted to higher building and site development costs,” says O’Brien.
“This market has been somewhat impacted by government policy seeking to reduce the amount of productive land being subdivided with several regions having a significantly lower volume of bare land blocks available.”
The median price for all lifestyle properties sold in the three months to December 2023 was $950,000 and was down $90,000 compared to the three months ended December 2022(-8.7%).
The median price for Bareland Lifestyle properties sold in the three months to December 2023 was $440,000 and was down $30,000 compared to the three months ended December 2022 (-6.4%).
The median price for Farmlet Lifestyle properties sold in the three months to December 2023 was $1,080,000 and was down $120,000 compared to the three months ended December 2022 (-10.0%).
“Agents continue to report good volumes of enquiry and for some South Island regions, a continuation of enquiry from other parts of the country,” comments O’Brien.
Eight regions recorded an increase in sales compared to December 2022, with Nelson/Marlborough (+17 sales) and Bay of Plenty and Manawatu-Whanganui (+9 sales) observing the biggest increases. Auckland (-51 sales) and Canterbury (-21 sales) recorded the biggest decreases in sales in the three months to December 2023 compared to the three months to December 2022. Compared to the three months to November 2023, 8 regions recorded an increase in sales.
Three regions saw the median price of lifestyle blocks increase between the three months ending December 2022 and the three months ending December 2023.
The most notable examples were in Wellington (+12.8%) and Southland (+4.3%) with the biggest decreases being in West Coast ( -40%) and Gisborne/Hawkes Bay ( -20.4%).
The median number of days to sell for lifestyle properties was 14 days more in the three months to December 2023 than in the three months to December 2022, sitting at 64 days. Southland (48 days) recorded the shortest number of days to sell in December 2023. West Coast (119 days) recorded the longest number of days to sell.
