DEFYING PREDICTIONS
Back when Covid-19 first broke out in New Zealand and the country went into lockdown, economic fears were riding high and many thought a housing market crash was likely. Commentators predicted significant price declines and, during the first lockdown, activity did indeed stall.
Yet – fast forward a few months – and the market reality has turned out to be somewhat different. Not only did the market bounce back strongly following the first lockdown in March-April, but it now seems that lockdown 2.0 has not dented its resurgence.
The most recent round of housing market data marked the third consecutive month to turn in booming prices and sales. And that’s left economists revising their forecasts.
PRICES FIRMLY ASCENDANT
To start with, price decline forecasts be damned. Values have largely held firm around most of the country in the face of the Covid-19 storm and, right now, prices are actually booming in some markets.
The CoreLogic House shows that while values nationwide have fluctuated slightly in recent months, they were down by just 0.2% in the three months to August. This left the average national value at $737,854 in August.
