According to a recent Trade Me Property survey, 82% of the 1,700 survey respondents say the timing and result of the election will have no impact on their intention to buy or sell property.

The survey aimed to find out what New Zealanders think will happen to the property market in the lead up to this year’s general election – which has now been postponed till October 17 due to Auckland’s Covid-19 outbreak. Trade Me Property spokesperson Aaron Clancy says their data shows that activity in the property market during an election year does not differ all that much from other years.

“That said, obviously this year we have some added challenges with Covid-19 playing on people’s minds.” Outside of the election, over half (52%) of Kiwis said other events or economic factors will influence whether they buy or sell in the next 24 months.

“The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 including job security, changes to interest rates, and the possibility of a recession were the main concerns for buyers and sellers that may impact their property decisions.”

While the survey was conducted before the recent change in alert levels, Clancy says it still gives a good indication of New Zealanders’ confidence in the property market.

“New Zealanders are, overall, pretty optimistic about the property market and if we can get on top of this latest cluster and move down the alert levels we reckon that optimism will stay.”