Our Buyer Classification figures are always fascinating to track, showing how market shares for each different buyer group are changing through time. But currently, they’re perhaps even more interesting than usual, with a ‘debt vs equity’ theme really starting to show through.
Indeed, across the country as a whole, the market share for mortgaged investors (multiple property owners/MPOs) in Q1 2022 was flat at around 23%, the same level for the past 6-9 months, and well down on the peak of 29% in Q1 last year (prior to the 40% deposit requirement and phased removal of interest deductibility). First home buyers are struggling too, also with just 23% of purchases in Q1 (versus 26% three months ago).
By contrast, those with a bit more of an equity base behind them – i.e. cash investors and relocating owner-occupiers – have seen increased market shares (albeit in a quieter overall market in terms of the raw numbers of deals). At 13%, the cash investor figure was at a two-year high in Q1, while the figure for movers was 29%, the highest since the middle of 2016.
Of course, a debt-vs-equity theme is no major surprise in this market, where interest rates have risen and mortgage finance is harder to secure anyway (due to various lending rules).
What about in Auckland? As the chart shows, these same trends broadly prevail – e.g. cash investors have perked up a bit, movers are creeping higher, and first home buyers have dipped a little. However, the percentages themselves are different, and that’s certainly the case for mortgaged investors. Yes, that share has dropped from where it was a year ago (31%), but at 26% in Q1 2022 it remains higher than the national figure.
