As we move into the first week of December, there continues to be significant momentum in the real estate market, with a noticeable upswing of new properties coming to market. Our new listing levels are the highest they have been in 2020, allowing purchasers more choice regarding the number of properties available, as well as locations and prices.
This week, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand released its new mortgage data for October 2020, showing a record number of mortgages allocated across the real estate market. While September was a national record for property lending, October saw an increase, largely due to first home buyers and investors being particularly active.
Total monthly new mortgage commitments reached $7.8 billion in October, the highest month on record since the survey began in 2013. This reflects a further increase of $0.5 billion from September 2020. The change in market conditions over the past 12 months is evident, with lending increasing by 28.1 percent compared to October 2019.