Akld property prices fell less than 5% last year

12 January 2009

Media Release

Auckland property prices fell less than 5% last year

Sales figures for Auckland’s biggest real estate company show that property prices declined 4.7% last year. Barfoot & Thompson’s average sale price for the 12 months to December 2008 was $513,597, compared to $538,478 for 2007.

Managing Director Peter Thompson says the market ended the year on a high note with more sales clocked up in the company’s final week of trading for 2008 than for any other week during the year. Barfoot & Thompson closed off the month on Friday 19 December and 227 sales were recorded for that week, compared to an average of 171 per week throughout the year. The average sale price for the month of December was $509,513, up 1.7% from November.

Mr Thompson believes the increased activity is partly the result of the Reserve Bank’s action in cutting interest rates. “We’ve certainly seen an improvement in the market since the Reserve Bank’s most recent move. It seems to have tipped the balance in terms of converting interested parties into committed buyers.”

Commenting on the 4.7% decline in the 12 month average, Mr Thompson says, “This is a really good result, given all the dire predictions that have been tossed around. This should also help lend confidence to the market and reassure both vendors and prospective buyers.”

In the company’s property management division December was a busy month with 579 properties let, compared to 435 in December 2007. The average weekly rent ended the year on a high note at $394, compared to the 12 month average of $388.

Other key results from the Auckland property market during 2008 include:

/ 2008 / 2007
Average number of sales per month / 547 / 915
Average number of sales per week / 171 / 281
Average sale price
/ $513,597 / $538,478
New listings signed up per month / 1,407 / 1,639
Average weekly rent / $388 / $370

ENDS

© Scoop Media