(RTTNews) - Friday, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, or REINZ, said house sales in January was the lowest since 1992.

In January, the national median house price was N$325,000 compared with $340,000 in the previous year.

REINZ President, Mike Elford said that well priced properties coming on the market are selling and are holding their value to a reasonable degree.

REINZ said the very limited turnover is of greater concern than prices. The number of home sales nationwide was 3,706 in January, significantly less than 5,186 recorded in the same period of 2008 and 4,302 sold in December.

“This is the lowest figure we have seen in recent years by quite some margin,” Elford said. “Before 2008, the lowest turnover of houses we have seen on the New Zealand market was January 1992 when the number of houses sold was 4,427. We’re now well below that.

“It’s clear evidence that people are treading cautiously and reflects the uncertainty of the wider economic environment,” Elford said. He also said falling interest rates had yet to have the effect of vitalizing the market.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, New Zealand, Releases.

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