Property boom slowing
Part One
SOURCE NZ Herald
5.00AM Monday November 12, 2007
By Bernard Orsman and Anne Gibson
The property market has entered
a slump. Photo / Kenny Rodger
The property boom is petering out with two sets of data showing falling prices and flagging buyer confidence.
Quotable Value figures out today show higher interest rates and cautious buyers are behind a slowing property market for the second consecutive month.
On Friday, the Real Estate Institute reported a big fall in the annual rate of growth in prices and fewer house sales. It was down to 8.02 per cent for the year to October, compared with 12.3 per cent to September, said president Murray Cleland.
Most banking economists predict a soft landing for the sector and prices flattening, rather than plummeting.
BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said a survey of 27 real estate professionals found overwhelmingly pessimistic sentiments.
When asked about the market outlook, only six respondents were positive. Nineteen were negative and two were neutral. One Auckland agency said sales volumes were the lowest for seven years.
Auckland-based property analyst Kieran Trass said yesterday that the property market had entered a slump phase.