The first graph this month, as usual, displays the number of property sales each month over the past two years. There appears to be a noticeable upward trend starting from the beginning of this year. In May, we recorded 92 sales, a figure not seen since February 2022. It is optimistic to consider surpassing 100 sales per month in the second half of this year, which is crucial to achieving anything that could be considered a balanced market. Out of the 92 sales in May, 84 were residential properties, with the remaining 8 being lifestyle blocks.
The graph below illustrates the distribution of sales across different price bands, highlighting May's interesting results. With 14 sales surpassing the million-dollar mark, including 5 exceeding 1.7 million, and one sale of 10 million, these figures are truly impressive and hard to ignore.
The graph below is a recent addition to our Monthly Market Update, illustrating fluctuations over the past two years. It shows numerous monthly ups and downs, yet overall, the trend has been fairly stagnant, with this month's median exactly the same as in June 2022, nearly two years ago.
It's important to note that statistics like the Median Sale Price can be misleading over shorter periods. For instance, if a higher percentage of lower-priced homes sell in a particular month compared to fewer higher-end properties, it can drag down the median sale price for that month. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that individual property values have decreased. Over longer periods, these numbers reveal more meaningful trends.
I find this month's drop from $637,000 to $615,000 rather disappointing, especially considering the large number of higher-priced properties sold in May, which likely influenced that figure positively, but again very little can be taken from one month's numbers.
The median or average time to sell in Rotorua, as illustrated below, has shown considerable variability over the past few years. This statistic is of great interest to all of us and has consistently been featured in our Monthly Market Update. However, I believe it paints a clearer picture in a hotter market.
As I've mentioned in previous updates, the actual median in our current market is likely higher than the statistics suggest. This discrepancy arises because the data does not account for properties that lingered on the market for extended periods and were eventually withdrawn. Instead, it only records successful sales. In a hot market, nearly every property sells, making those figures more reliable indicators.
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