After the house price boom comes the bust

Stuff.co.nz’s Miriam Bell has done a terrific job summarising the budding New Zealand housing crash, which has seen house prices and sales collapse at their fastest pace in decades. The key headline is the 13.7% decline recorded by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) House Price Index, which takes into account changes in the mix of properties sold each month. In turn, “the national median price at $810,000 in November, down from $925,000 at the same time last year”. Forecasts of how far New Zealand house prices will fall vary, with ASB leading the pack tipping a 25% decline from peak (-40% adjusted for inflation). New Zealand led the global house price boom over the pandemic.