The number of house listings has risen and the real estate sector is expecting more activity as buyers feel more confident amid falling interest rates.

The latest data based on listings on the website realestate.co.nz showed a 9% lift in new listings during August from the year prior.

In the main centres, Auckland listings were up 13.4%, with Wellington at 11.4% and Waikato 9.1% rising.

In the Bay of Plenty, listings spiked by 46%, with the Gisborne region up 40%.

Chief executive of realestate.co.nz, Sarah Wood, said coming into spring, confidence was returning across the board.

“On our site we’re seeing lots of search activity.

“A year ago, the OCR was at 5.25%, which kept borrowing costs high and buyers cautious. Fast forward to today, with the OCR at 3%, and the change is significant.

The national average asking price remained stable at $862,652, up 1.7% on the same time last year.

Asking prices increased in 12 of the 19 regions compared to last August; however, year-on-year declines were seen in Auckland (-1.5%), Wellington (-3.2%), Hawke’s Bay (-5.2%) and Otago (-4.4%).

Canterbury had asking prices up 2.5% year-on-year.

Gisborne bucked the trend with a 23.2% increase year-on-year to enter the $800,000 bracket for the first time with an average asking price of $815,203.

Six regions saw both year-on-year and month-on-month asking price growth in August: Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Gisborne, Manawatū-Whanganui, Northland, and Taranaki.

Three regions saw month-on-month and year-on-year declines in the asking price.

The Central North Island, Hawke’s Bay, and Otago, which slipped below $600,000 for the first time since last December.

Wood said with 30,000 homes on the market, buyers could take their time, and also look to buy and sell in the same conditions.

“We’ve had these high stock numbers for a while. What it shows is that last year there were a lot of properties that came to the market and it took a lot of time for them to sell.

“The positive side of that is that it’s a more stable market and buyers have time to look and do their due diligence.

“Lower rates are giving buyers more confidence to act and are easing the pressure on homeowners.”

RNZ