Auckland reaches new record high average asking price of $866,080 in February
– up $101,656 in 12 months

Otago, Hawke’s Bay & Coromandel also reach new record highs

AUCKLAND, 3 March 2016 – Auckland reached a new record high in average asking price in February of $866,080, an increase of $101,656 or 13.3%in 12 months,according to data from Realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s largest website dedicated to property. The average asking price in Auckland in February last year was $764,424, while the previous record of $851,531 was set five months ago in September 2015.

Brendon Skipper, Chief Executive of Realestate.co.nz, says “The national average returned to near record high levels in February, with three other regions in addition to Auckland also experiencing record highs: Otago, Hawke’s Bay and Coromandel.

“The national average asking price in February was $565,861, only marginally below the previous record of $568,215 set in August last year. While these average asking prices reflect continuing vendor confidence, they do need to be seen against a background of relatively low inventory.”

The national inventory of available housing stock sits at 16.4 weeks, easing from the record low set in January of 14.7 weeks.

New listings for February across the country totalled 11,989, a return to expected levels for this time of year following a shortage of supply in December and January. Auckland had 4,202 new listings, up 1.4% from February 2015, and its highest number for February since 2013.

Wellington’s average asking price in February of $483,212 was down slightly from the record high set in January of $489,029, while new listings were also down 2.9% on February 2015.

The average asking price in Canterbury in February was $457,358, a 5.4% decrease on January’s record high of $483,233, while new listings were at similar levels to the same month in 2015.

Otago reached a new all-time high in average asking price of $323,367 in February, up slightly on the previous high of $321,188 set in October 2015, while new listings were up 5.2% on the same month last year. Hawke’s Bay experienced a new record of $389,654, up from the previous record of $387,504 set in August last year, with new listings down 8.3% on February 2015.

Coromandel’s new record high in average asking price was $579,676, up marginally from the previous high set last month of $574,271, though it saw a 7.7% decline in new listings compared with February 2015.

Inventory is a measure of the national supply of homes for sale, expressed as the number of weeks it would take for all currently listed properties to sell at average rates, should no new properties get listed. The long-term national average is 34 weeks.

ENDS

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