Auckland House Prices And Sales Volume Hold Up

Auckland House Prices And Sales Volume Hold Up Well In April

In April Auckland’s residential housing showed no signs of giving up the surge in activity experienced in February and March, with the average house price being $502,726, up 2.2 percent on that achieved in March.

At the same time, the number of sales at 809 was up 79 percent on those for the same month last year.

“Traditionally April sales volume and prices can fall away markedly compared to March,” said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“It is a seasonal factor, so to get an increase in price in April with only a modest fall in the number of homes sold compared to the previous month is heartening.

“It demonstrates the housing market has found strength at its present level, and with confidence returning an increasing number of people are prepared to make buy and sell decisions.

“There is a catch up surge going through the market as people follow through on long held intentions to upgrade, invest in a property or free up equity.”

Mr Thompson said that many people would be surprised to learn that the biggest challenge facing the Auckland housing market was the scarcity of properties to sell.

“At this time last year we had close to 1400 more homes on our books than we do at present (a decline of 19 percent on April 2008’s 7483 homes).

“There is a widely held belief that the housing market is extremely quiet with prices dropping.

“That belief is wrong, and April’s average price is in line with the average price achieved for the first quarter of this year.”

Mr Thompson said he anticipated the number of homes sold in coming months would follow the traditional seasonal pattern and decline gradually as winter approaches, before increasing again at the start of spring. While there would be monthly price variations these were likely to move in a narrow band.

The demand for rental property continued to be strong, with the average rental increasing to $399 a week, an increase of 2.6 percent on that at the start of the year.

Mr Thompson said that in the past few weeks there had been a noticeable increase in the number of individuals approaching the company with vacant properties to rent.

ends

© Scoop Media