Key cities including Christchurch, Tauranga and Auckland have seen their property markets slow down in recent months – and the number of owners selling houses at a loss is increasing.

According to data analyst CoreLogic’s recent Pain and Gain Report, 0.1% of apartments and 4.1% of houses in New Zealand were sold at a loss during last year’s third quarter.

Overall, apartments experienced a median loss NZ$25,000 (around £13,000), while houses dropped by NZ$18,000 (around £9,300), which the report pointed out was surprising given that the apartments were typically worth less than the houses.

The worst hit places for loss-making resales during the quarter were Christchurch with 11.1%, Tauranga with 3.9% and Auckland with 3.3%.

Across the country as a whole, there was almost NZ$30m (£15.5m) in realised losses, with a median loss of NZ$19,000 (£9,900) per sale.

Overseas buyers are still keen

The news may have been particularly unexpected for those who have witnessed an upturn in sales from foreign buyers ahead of the impending ban on overseas purchasers.

Chinese website Juwai, for example, has recently reported a large increase in New Zealand property enquiries as buyers rush to secure it ahead of the ban.

At the end of last year, Juwai began a large marketing campaign to help Chinese buyers get a foot on the New Zealand property ladder before it’s too late and, as a result, it has seen enquiries jump by over a third.

“Since we’ve been running the campaign and comparing it to November, the period just before the campaign, we’ve had a 35% increase in buyer demand or buyer inquiries for New Zealand property,” commented Dave Platter of Juwai.

Meanwhile, New Zealand real estate agents Harcourts has had around 250,000 foreign users in the last 90 days compared with 200,000 over the same period last year.

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