FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

New Zealand Home Sales Fall 7.9% Year-on-Year in April, Says REINZ

By

New Zealand national home sales fell 7.9% year-on-year to 6,262 in April 2026, though the seasonally adjusted sales count declined a more moderate 2.1% compared to March, according to data released Thursday by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

The national House Price Index (HPI) fell 0.9% year-on-year to 3,598, sitting 15.9% below its peak, while the national median price eased 0.6% year-on-year to NZ$775,000, with eight of 16 regions recording year-on-year increases in median prices, the data showed.

Southland reached a new all-time HPI high, up 8% annually and the strongest growth of any region nationally, while Canterbury ran at 3% annually, the second highest nationally, REINZ added.

National inventory rose 3.9% year-on-year to 37,334 properties, while new listings increased 7.4% year-on-year to 9,139, though excluding Auckland, new listings saw a slight decline of 0.4% to 5,717, the data added.

REINZ said the shift from an environment of rate cuts to an imminent-hike environment removes the tailwind of falling rate expectations that underpinned 2025's recovery and introduces the prospect of new serviceability pressure, which it said is a meaningful change from April's starting position.

Related Articles

International

India Approves INR375 Billion Scheme to Boost Gasification Projects

The Indian government on Wednesday approved a 375 billion Indian rupee scheme to promote gasification projects in a bid to reduce the country's dependence on imported fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), urea, ammonia, and methanol.The move comes amid India's gas imports being impacted by the Iran war and the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East. It aims to increase the conversion of coal into synthetic gas that can be used to produce power, fertilizer, petrochemical among other industrial applications.The total financial outlay of 375 billion rupees to incentivize new surface coal and lignite gasification projects for the production of syngas and its downstream products, targeting gasification of around 75 million tons of coal and lignite. This is expected to generate 63 billion rupees annually.The government expects the scheme to attract total investments of up to 3 trillion rupees.

$^BSE$^NSEI
International

RICS: UK House Price Balance Falls in April

The UK Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors house price balance stood at -34% in April, down from the revised -25% in the previous month, according to residential market survey data released Thursday.The latest reading missed the consensus estimate of -25% and was the weakest since November 2023.For the next three months, house price expectations improved to -38% from -45%, suggesting a potential ease in downward pressure on prices.

$^FTSE
International

Australia Household Spending Falls in April, CommBank Says

Australia's household spending fell 1.2% in April, reversing a fuel-driven surge in March as lower spending on petrol and public transport weighed on transport and recreation spending, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (ASX:CBA) Household Spending Insights published Thursday."The oil shock resulting from the current Middle East conflict has not had the size of impact that was initially expected," CBA Head of Australian Economics Belinda Allen said.Six of the 12 spending categories fell in April, including rare declines in insurance and health, with health recording its first monthly drop since March last year.The transport category recorded the largest decline, driven by lower petrol prices following a fuel excise cut and the introduction of free public transport in Victoria and Tasmania."Petrol price movements continue to have a big impact on the month-to-month swing in household spending, and we expect households to do much of the heavy lifting over [the] coming months in slowing spending and cooling inflation," Allen added.Recreation spending fell by 2.6% in seasonally adjusted terms in April, making it the second-weakest category after transport, and it was the only category to record an annual decline in growth over the year.Annual spending growth slowed to 5.5% in April from an 8.5% surge in March, with utilities leading growth at around 18% after energy rebates ended.Tasmania recorded a 0.2% rise in spending in April, while South Australia and Victoria were unchanged, and Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory each declined by 0.2%.

$^AXJO$ASX:CBA