Property prices fell by 1 one per cent last month, to take the total drop the year to 6.8 per cent. The average price of a property in New Zealand is now NZ$379,290.

Experts are predicting that the recent lack of activity in the New Zealand property market is related to the financial crisis which affecting property markets to varying extents all over the world.

"Activity levels remain unusually low," explains Blue Hancock of QV Valuations. "Especially considering that spring usually brings an upsurge in the number of house sales."

The situation is unpredictable from city to city, however. In Auckland, property prices are down by 7.7 per cent year on year, but some buyers at the lower end of the market are still finding it difficult to climb the property ladder as banks have tightened their lending procedures in light of the worldwide economic slump.

Property prices in Auckland rose from NZ$495,873 in September, to NZ$520,039 in October, but are still well down on last October's figure of NZ$546,679.

A large fall in property prices was recorded in Hamilton, with values falling  by 9 per cent year on year, leaving the average price at NZ$349,253.

Elsewhere, there were declines in property prices across many other major New Zealand cities – Tauranga was down by 7.9 per cent, Christchurch by 7.8 per cent, Dunedin by 8.2 per cent, Invercargill by 4.6 per cent and Queenstown Lakes by 8.1 per cent.

Despite these drops in property prices, however, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) have recently reported that there have been some rises in price in certain places, including Wellington, Taranaki, Northland and Hawke's Bay.

Vice president of the REINZ, Peter McDonald, said that it was good to see the property market holding its own in certain areas, despite the financial problems all over the world and the media's largely negative spin on the property market situation.

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For more information visit:
www.qv.co.nz
www.reinz.org.nz

Article first published 13 November 2008