During 2022 we have moved rapidly from booming house prices, and high demand, through to low demand and falling prices – but are we now out the other side and growing again already?
The media, yes the same ones who’ve been reporting that the market won’t bottom out until 2024, have just started to figure out that something else might indeed be happening out here.
Prices are stabilising, buyer numbers are increasing at open homes, & vendors are being realistic!
Could this be a false bottom or have we actually landed already?
If this turns out to be correct then, certainly for those of us in Christchurch, the bottom of the market is quite close to the top of the market. A matter of around a 4% drop which, on a $600,000 property, is only $24,000.
Yes, this may seem like a lot of money but, once you take into account the incredible property value gains over the last couple of years, this is a relatively minor market reset in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, if this really is the end of the dip and the start of a plateau or even a slow rise (which I believe it is), then we have survived this much publicised property market recalculation comparatively unscathed.
Whilst this is good news for homeowners, especially those who have purchased since 2020, this news may not seem so great for those first home buyers still plotting their first step onto the property ladder.
However, there is some good news on this front too!
Despite the most recent hike in the Official Cash Rate, the banks have not passed this on to homeowners in the form of mortgage interest rate rises – these seem to be holding steady at the time of writing.
The CCCF rules that were causing so many problems early in the year seem to have been sorted out – buying your daily long black should no longer prevent you from being eligible for a home loan!
Finally, the knowledge that property prices, especially in Christchurch, continue to rise – despite the doom and gloom of earthquakes, a global pandemic, and now a worldwide cost of living crisis – should give buyers confidence for the medium to long term.
As the saying goes, “The best time to buy a house was yesterday. The next best time is today.”
Most of the time this is correct – and, very soon, it will be again.
James Abell | Sales Consultant | 021 843 235
