A view of a neighborhood with three story homes in Las Vegas, Nevada April 4, 2013. The buying of foreclosed homes and other distressed homes by three big institutional buyers is reshaping the housing market in Las Vegas.
In a move that may lead to a shakeout in the property market, the New Zealand Reserve Bank has issued an advisory to banks to treat loans on investment properties as riskier than residential home loans. It wanted the lenders to segregate the two and count the risks appropriately. A view of a neighborhood with three story homes in Las Vegas, Nevada April 4, 2013. The buying of foreclosed homes and other distressed homes by three big institutional buyers is reshaping the housing market in Las Vegas. Reuters/Steve Marcus

New Zealand's house sales in December bucked the established Christmas and holiday slowdown and reached new heights, particularly in Auckland. According to the figures released by Real Estate Institute, a big gap in price trends existed between Auckland and the rest of the country with a particularly strong December as the high point.

Bucks Trend

According to REINZ, there were 7,064 unconditional residential sales that up by 24.2 percent in terms of sales recorded in December 2013. Typically, sales in December used to be lower than in November due to school holidays and Christmas break.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Auckland's median price rose 13 percent across 2014 until December. But the national median rose only 5.4 percent. Listings also remained at low levels in most parts of the country, with Auckland having only less than three months of supply.

Helen O'Sullivan, chief executive, REINZ said, "The data for December showed very strong sales growth compared to 12 months ago and a higher level of sales that is normally expected for the last month of the year. The effect has been visible across the country, with a number of regions registering sharp increases in sales in December, following a strong November. The normal December slow down did not really happen in 2014." Barring Auckland, median prices across New Zealand got toned down somewhat. Even in Canterbury, which had seen strong price surge during 2014, saw its rate of price growth slipping back to under 2 percent for the 12 months to December 2014.

Auckland Tops

The house sale prices and volumes jumped in Auckland from a combination of undersupply of available property and migration-fuelled demand, reported National Business Review. The housing market lost some of its heat after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand imposed strict lending restrictions in October 2014, in an effort to cool the overheated sector. The central bank also raised interest rates four times in 2014. These steps moderated the housing market in most parts of the country, but Auckland's market continued to remain strong, noted Nasdaq News. The latest stats also mark a significant milestone in terms of the sale in of a bigger number of dwellings and the strongest December sales since 2006.

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