Alert Level 3 Covid-19 Restrictions Impacted Real Estate Prices and Volumes for Rotorua

This month we take a look at how Alert Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions impacted real estate prices and volumes for Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and New Zealand. Despite national property sale volumes falling 46.6% annually, May recorded a substantial uplift of 191% compared to April, illustrating a recovery in activity.

Real Estate prices in Rotorua surged forward a further 9.1%, up $40,000 compared to May 2019, reaching $480,000. Note, we do not view the 5.0% slip from April as material, given there were only 14 unconditional sales in April.

Rotorua outperformed Bay of Plenty and National markets during May. While Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty District fell 2.7% and 3.0% respectively, Bay of Plenty's median house price increased 4.2% annually, supported by Rotorua's 9.1% increase. New Zealand prices rose 7.9% to reach a new median house price of $620,000 (coincidentally the same median price as Bay of Plenty).

As touched on, sales activity did improve during May compared to April. For example, the number of properties sold in Rotorua in May was 40 vs. 14 in April. We expect further improvement in June owing to eased restrictions.

Neville Falconer, REINZ Regional Director, summarised the movements for Bay of Plenty as follows:
"Median prices in the Bay of Plenty reached $620,000, up 4.2% compared to the same time last year, but were down 1.6% on April. Te Papa/Welcome Bay and Katikati/Waihi Beach were the only areas to see price lifts since April. Overall, the market is busy with new listings, enquiries and Plenty of buyers. Vendors are looking at all offers presented as no one is sure how the market will track over the coming months. It will be interesting to see how the market performs once election time begins, mortgage holidays end as well as the impact from the next wave of job losses."

As we mentioned last month, May marked the 1st Anniversary of KEY Real Estate! We are grateful to continuing working with past clients and excited to meet new faces in the years ahead. We pride ourselves on being locally owned, with a mission to deliver exceptional service, marketing and technology, all for our reasonable set fee and no upfront costs.

Remember to check out our current property listings and get in touch with the team if you want to talk to a top real estate agent!

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