Commentary
The Wairoa residential property market experienced significant market growth from 2017 until around August 2021, where the market peaked. The driver of the market has been cheap finance, with the market as a result loose monetary policy and government stimulus in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
From July 2021, interest rates started to rise off record lows, with most of the increase having occurred since October 2021. This has been coupled with the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) which came into effect on 1 December 2021, resulting in banks turning down a lot of lending applications where there could be questions around the affordability of the loan. This change has been particularly hard felt in the lower price bracket (particularly first home buyers). That said, since the Wairoa residential property market peaked, demand has softened, but values have generally held relatively firm a little below the peak but exceeding values prior to mid 2021.
A number of houses in Wairoa were damaged in Cyclone Gabrielle, and there is an expectation this could affect demand once the buyout scheme progresses.
Median sale price stats in Wairoa need to be considered with caution, as they are typically based on a relatively small number of sales, so a few strong or weak sales can influence the statistics, however the trend it clear and strong.
