On an average sale value of $898,466 in the year to June, sellers would typically have paid anything from $27,000 to $35,000 for one of the big agencies. Consumer NZ spokeswoman Jessica Wilson said her organisation would encourage people to “shop around” and play salespeople off against each other to get a better deal. “We’re not seeing any significant difference in service from real estate agents but their commission has increased just because the housing market has been so hot.” She said Consumer NZ inquiries had shown that New Zealanders paid more in commission than people in Australia or the United States.
Real estate agent commissions increase by $1b stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Econ Talks - House price rises are obscene and ridiculous (18 June 2021) Squires said counter to what you would expect when the unemployment rate was low, average wages fell in most of the country. The Central Economic Development Agency reports put Manawatū’s unemployment rate under the national rate, at 4 per cent. But despite that the region saw the biggest drop in average wages, which fell 11.8 per cent, from $1268 to $1118 a week, over the first quarter of 2021. Squires said that didn’t even show the full effect falling wages were likely to have on affordability, since inflation was forecast to rise going forward.
Rising house prices and decreasing income lead to decline in home affordability
The report shows median house prices across the country increased by 5.1 per cent in aggregate.
Dr Arshad Javed
Professor Graham Squires
The latest Massey University Home Affordability Report shows an overall decline in national affordability over the most recent quarter. This was largely driven by soaring house prices and income levels dropping in the majority of the regions as well as nationally, by three per cent.
The report, which covers the quarter from February 2021 to May 2021, shows median house prices across the country increased by 5.1 per cent in aggregate. This, combined with a decrease in incomes in many regions, has seen national home affordability decline by 6.8 per cent. National house price-to-income ratios have also deteriorated, with house prices moving from 11.4 to 12.4 times annual wages.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
Housing affordability has fallen in 13 of 16 regions. If an annual view was taken, there had been a solid decline in home affordability of 10.1 per cent nationally, he said. “The decline is reflected in 13 of the 16 regions, but there are regional differences with three regions seeing a slight improvement in affordability.” The biggest quarterly drops in affordability were in the Tasman region where it was down 21.9 per cent, Gisborne where it was down 18.8 per cent, Manawatu/Whanganui down 17.9 per cent, and Taranaki down 17.7 per cent.
Supplied/Supplied In contrast, affordability improved modestly over the quarter in Auckland, Nelson and Southland.