The CoreLogic Buyer Classification has been updated for February to show that ‘mortgaged multiple property owners’ (MPOs – otherwise known as investors) continue to beat out ‘first home buyers’ (FHBs) for the national share of property purchases. However, interestingly enough, FHBs are the biggest buyer group in most of the main centres around New Zealand, even in Auckland.
FHBs access to the property market is thought to be helped by their access to KiwiSaver, but with average house prices in Auckland reaching $1.04m, it is interesting to see where this will develop. Kelvin Davidson, CoreLogic’s senior property economist, said, “The competition between FHBs and mortgaged MPOs is so interesting. Over the last year or so, mortgaged MPOs have slowly returned to the market. They are now responsible for 24 percent of purchases so far in 2019 and are currently the second largest buyer group.”
“Even though FHBs have now dipped back into third place—the bigger picture is that their market share is at an 11-year high. The figure for Auckland is particularly striking—an FHB share of 27 percent makes them the biggest buyer group.
