01-06-2012

Apartments back in vogue

Landlords.co.nz

1. News
2. 2012
3. June

There are signs that the apartment market may experiencing a resurgence. Apartment listings were up by more than a quarter in May compared to the year before and building consent figures show a big increase in the number being constructed.

By Susan Edmunds

The latest report from realestate.co.nz shows the number of apartments listed for sale in May was 22 per cent up on May 2011, with 495 brought to the market.

The median asking price of the new apartment listings eased to $371,703 in May from $384,861 in April. That was a drop of 3 per cent in price from the year before.

Of the national total, 288 of the new apartment listings were in Auckland.

Real estate institute chief executive Helen O'Sullivan was not sure what had sparked the increase in new listings but said apartment sales figures tended to be lumpy. When a new complex was finished, a rush of apartments would enter the market.

But she said some of the increase might be because buildings with weather-tightness issues had had their problems remedied and were ready for sale.

She expected the increase would turn into a trend and apartments would increase in popularity again.

"Building consents obviously take a while to turn into listings but they are indicating an increase in that section of the market."

There were 104 new apartments consented in March 2012. There were no building consents for apartments approved in March 2011.

Source: Landlords.co.nz