A shortage of houses for sale in the three main centres could encourage vendors to push up asking prices in coming months, the real estate industry says.
According to the latest monthly issue of the NZ Property Report, the level of available inventory nationally -- the number of weeks it would take to sell the country's entire available stock based on average sale times -- was down 34 percent on a year ago in August.
A scarcity of new listings in the main centres meant the drop in inventory levels in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch was morepronounced, down between 41 percent and 45 percent.
NZ Property Report is produced by Realestate.co.nz, the official website of the New Zealand real estate industry.
"The arrival of spring typically signals a surge in residential property market activity, but with inventory levels low this year -- particularly in the three largest centres -- vendors may be encouraged to increase asking prices," Realestate.co.nz. chief executive Alistair Helm said.
That had not happened yet, with asking prices essentially unchanged between July and August, and 7 percent below the peak reached in October 2007.
Nationally, the average asking price for a property in August was $397,187, compared to $396,949 in July and $403,107 in June.
The combination of little movement in price expectation, the number of listings, and inventory over recent months meant the market could be considered stable at present, Mr Helm said.
But if potential sellers continued to hold off listing properties, the shortage of available stock could push prices up over the coming months.
