Central Otago’s housing shortage may have been alleviated by Covid-19, but industry leaders say working in a limited capacity at Level 3 means they need time to grasp the new reality.
The region’s rapid growth meant housing shortages — particularly in the rental market — had been a problem and the pandemic might well have addressed that, but moving to Level 2 would give a clearer picture.
Central Otago District Council chief adviser Saskia Righarts said because real estate transactions had just resumed under Level 3, that meant the overall impact of Covid-19 on that sector of the economy was yet to become clear.
‘‘It is too early to tell what impact Covid-19 has had on the Central Otago housing market.
‘‘Council has yet to see any projections of what the market may do.
‘‘We may anticipate however, given our lesser reliance on tourism, that the Central Otago market may not be as badly impacted as Queenstown Lakes.’’
Real estate agents throughout Central Otago contacted by the Otago Daily Times would not be drawn on real estate market conditions or the rental market in particular, having partly returned to work under Level 3. They did they wish to be quoted and most referred comment to head offices.
It was not clear what had changed and a move to Level 2 would provide some idea of how the market was, the agents said.
