Realestate.co.nz has reported the that number of houses available for sale has dropped to its lowest level since records began 14 years ago. The impact on regions like Coromandel has been significant. While housing stocks plummet, and prices soar accordingly, Whitianga builders report a boom in new house builds.
There are now 12,249 houses available for sale, which is a drop of 31.9% on the same time last year.
QV property consultant Jarrod Hedley said Thames-Coromandel had become the first district in the Waikato to surpass the $1 million house price mark.
Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie said the jump in asking prices for her district was “extraordinary”.
“The real estate agents I’ve spoken to have said everything is going gang busters, particularly in Coromandel Town and Whitianga.
“Some of the prices have been incredible, it’s like people don’t seem to care what they pay. Not so long ago the asking price was around $700,000 so that’s a big jump right there.”
Coromandel has seen their housing stock more than halve in a year, dipping by over 60%.
“The Coromandel is often an outlier—the region is always attractive to buyers and investors alike, so it’s no surprise that availability is tight. There were 150 homes available to buy in the region at the end of June, a record low for the bach lovers’ peninsula.” – Vanessa Williams, realestate.co.nz
Perhaps in line with the increase in asking prices, the estimated value of residential building activity in the June 2021 increased 21 percent from the June 2020 year, over $18 billion higher.
“Residential construction in the last 12 months has been strong, following historically high levels of new homes consented in recent quarters.” – Construction Statistics manager Michael Heslop
Staying with Coromandel, this comes as no surprise to Whitianga builders we spoke to.
One master builder in Whitianga suggested that the biggest constraint is the availability of land, or the rate at which that land can be developed. House and land packages are hard to come by, with developers frequently playing catchup, and struggling to keep up with demand.
Whitianga Waterways residential development is a new marine village subdivision, and once complete will see over 1,500 new houses being built. The development is currently only one third complete and upon completion plans will include a marine precinct, hotel accommodation and waterfront retail.
A resource consent has already been granted for the hotel to accommodate the growing tourism in the region.
The impact on Tradespeople is uncertain. Lower housing stock could mean fewer renovations and extensions, while increases in building consents signals more work for some.
Certainly, Whitianga builders will have no shortage of construction activity with this level of development.
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