Timaru's housing market is slowing, but not as quickly as in some other areas.

Story from Timaru Herald

QV's February statistics for the national residential property market report a 7.7 per cent growth in values over the past year. However, Timaru's growth is recorded as 13 per cent -- nearly double the national figure.

That doesn't surprise South Canterbury Real Estate Institute president Warwick Jones, who said that just as the provincial areas like Timaru were slower to experience the boom times, they were slower to reflect any downturn.

"The big cities are feeling the effects first -- it will happen here, but not as quickly. It takes us a while to catch up with the rest."

Mr Jones said he agreed with QV spokesperson Blue Hancock's comments that while most areas in the country were still experiencing good "year-on-year" growth in property values, the rate of growth was slowing rapidly.

Mr Hancock said banks had lifted their mortgage rates, properties were staying on the market for longer, and the volume of sales was dropping, with those keen to sell having to accept lower offers.

In Timaru, Mr Jones said, there certainly had been a slowing in the market place. The boom times of multi-offers, back-up contracts, cash-only offers and properties selling before the signs went up, were gone,

Properties were on the market longer -- January's average was 39 to 40 days -- and buyers were being more selective and prudent, coming in with slightly lower offers.

"If a vendor wants to sell in the current market, they have to lower their sights in some cases -- for some, their expectations are too high given the change in the marketplace."

Mr Jones said some properties with frequent reductions in the selling price may well have been priced too high for the market at the start, and had been rejected by the buyers because of that.

However, he still believed that if a property was priced, presented and promoted correctly, it would sell. However, if any one of those factors were out of kilter, it could affect the ability to sell.

Timaru's average sale price was $227,856, compared with the national average of $393,240. Mr Jones said it was swinging towards being a buyer's market. More contracts were now subject to sale and subject to finance, as opposed to unconditional cash offers.

Mr Jones said the market ran in roughly seven-year cycles. He said Timaru's market started pulling out of the doldrums about 2000, but really took off about mid 2003.

He believed the time properties would remain on the market could extend further, especially with interest rates still rising, and the winter months coming -- a time when buyer activity traditionally dropped.