Housing sales slumped to a record low last month with prices still falling, REINZ says

The housing market slump deepened in April with sales volumes dropping to a record low outside of the Covid lockdown period. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) recorded just 4262 residential property sales in April, down 15.3% compared to April last year. In April 1992, 4929 residential properties were sold, which means sales are currently running 13.5% lower than they were 31 years ago. "New Zealanders are waiting for the peak of inflation, a settling in interest rates and some clarity around the outcome of this year's election - this is what is keeping activity low," REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird said. The second chart below shows the monthly sales volumes by region.