Number of home transfers drops in September 2021 quarter

There were 36,753 home transfers in the September 2021 quarter, down more than 17 percent from the June 2021 quarter, Stats NZ said today.

Between the September 2020 and June 2021 quarters there were higher numbers of home transfers, including the December 2020 quarter when 51,501 home transfers occurred. Unlike the September 2021 quarter, no time was spent at COVID-19 alert-level 4 during this period.

"Despite being impacted by COVID-19, the number of home transfers in the September quarter was still comparable with pre-COVID-19 years," property statistics manager Michael Heslop said.

Not all transfers involve a sale. They also include a wide range of activities such as deceased estates, trustee changes, marriage settlements, boundary changes, and changes to the proportions of shares of ownership.

Auckland home transfers down 21 percent

There were 11,355 home transfers in Auckland in the September 2021 quarter. This was down 21 percent from the June 2021 quarter, when the region had 14,364 home transfers. Due to its population and number of properties, Auckland makes up about a third of all home transfers.

The latest quarter has seen Auckland spend more time in higher COVID-19 alert-levels compared with other regions.

The regions with the next highest number of home transfers were:

• Canterbury with 5,376 (down 16 percent)
• Waikato with 4,041 (down 18 percent)
• Wellington with 3,414 (down 17 percent)
• Bay of Plenty with 2,616 (down 12 percent).

Overseas transfers remain low

The number of home transfers to buyers without New Zealand citizenship or resident visas fell sharply in late 2018 as restrictions on the sale of residential property to overseas people came into force.

There were 132 home transfers made to buyers without New Zealand citizenship or resident visas in the September 2021 quarter, a total of 0.4 percent of all home transfers. Since March 2019 there has been a higher proportion of sellers in this category compared with buyers.

The number of home transfers to overseas people may never be zero due to Overseas Investment Act 2018 exemptions (for example, some new homes, and Australian and Singaporean buyers).

Compared with the overall drop of 17 percent in the number of home transfers between the June 2021 and September 2021 quarters, the number of home transfers to buyers with residency visas (but no citizenship) took a more moderate fall of 9.7 percent (4,098 to 3,702).

These buyers made up 10.1 percent of the total buyers in the September 2021 quarter, up from 9.2 percent in the June 2021 quarter.

For more information about property transfers and other buyer and seller types, see Property transfer statistics: September 2021 quarter.