19 Nov 2012

Housing market confidence 'remains steady'

10:43 am on 19 November 2012

ASB Bank says confidence in the housing market remains steady.

The bank's quarterly survey has found a net 23% of respondents say now is a good time to buy a house compared with 22% in the previous survey.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says the latest survey shows 56% of people think house prices will rise further compared with 51% in the last survey.

He says expectations for house prices are continuing to lift and it's now happening around the country rather than just in the hotspots of Auckland and Christchurch.

Mr Tuffley says there has been a drop in confidence in Auckland which may be because it has become more challenging to actually find a house in the city.

However, he says the drop in confidence in Auckland over the year is offset by higher confidence elsewhere.