The Bay of Plenty has seen a significant drop in supply for housing over the past 12 months.

New figures from Trade Me Property suggest that supply in the BOP has suffered a 34 per cent nosedive compared to the same point in 2020.

Across the nation, year-on-year supply was down 15 per cent, but our region suffered the second highest drop off, with only Northland faring marginally worse.

The drop in supply has contributed to a significant price hike.

'The biggest drops in supply were seen in Northland (-35 per cent), Bay of Plenty (-34 per cent) and Nelson/Tasman (-13 per cent),” says Trade Me Property sales director Gavin Lloyd.

'This had a direct impact on prices, with all three of these regions seeing average asking prices increase by at least 10 per cent.”

Gavin explains that, whilst nationally demand was down 2 per cent year-on-year in February, it makes little difference to prices due to that continued drop in supply.

'Despite both supply and demand showing a drop off when compared with the same month last year, demand continued to outstrip supply in February, pushing prices up.”

It will therefore come as no surprise that New Zealand's national average asking price for property reached an all-time high of $784,450 in February, increasing by $106,550 when compared with the same month last year, according to the Trade Me Property Price Index.

Gavin says February marked the sixth month in a row New Zealand's average asking price reached an all-time high as the property market keeps its foot on the gas.

'February was another month of immense growth, with prices showing no signs of slowing down.

'While homeowners will be pleased to hear property prices have climbed more than $100,000 in just one year, that house is now even further out of reach for first home buyers.”

Looking ahead, Gavin says the Government's recent housing announcement could see prices slow.

'While it's not totally clear yet what impact the Government's housing package will have, we may see some increase in supply as investors rethink their property buying decisions with the bright-line test being extended and an increase in tax costs.

'In saying that, we would have to see a pretty remarkable increase in supply to see any relief in the short term. We expect to see the impact of this new legislation later in the year.”

With the exception of Auckland and the West Coast all thirteen other regions in New Zealand set new record high average asking prices

'We've never seen so many record highs in one month,” says Gavin. 'It's a sign of just how hot New Zealand's property market is.”

Small houses in particular saw a climb in asking price. Small one or two bedroom or medium three or four bedroom properties both reached record high prices last month.

'Large houses (5+ bedrooms) were the only type that did not see an all-time high average asking price in February,” says Gavin, before highlighting how urban properties were now at a record high after a 14 per cent year-on-year jump.