Auckland Property Market Decelerates as Winter Approaches

Auckland Property Market Decelerates as Winter Approaches

The Auckland residential property market continued to slow down throughout May.

“The average sales price during May was $702,966, down less than one percent or $6,000 on April’s figure”, said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“House prices have remained static throughout May, but the market itself has been very active in comparison to April sales. We sold 1,109 properties throughout the month, which is a 37 percent increase on the previous month. However, sales were down 14 percent when compared to the same month last year.

“New listings at 1,318 were the lowest in three months, and down 19 percent on those in April. At the end of May we had 3,498 properties on our books, the second lowest number in May for more than 10 years.

“It is by now a well-worn story; Auckland remains a city with a greater number of people chasing fewer properties. Those properties that are priced sensibly to meet the market are selling quickly.

“Vendors are still choosing auction as their preferred method to go to market. The success rate at auction is around 80 percent within a seven day period. This is because we are experiencing a trend towards properties that are passed in at auction either selling later the same day or within seven days of the auction.

“Overall the market is in line with seasonal activity, and we are likely to see further cooling with average and median sales prices falling back slightly over the winter months,” said Mr Thompson.

The median sales price for May was $645,000, an increase of four percent above that for April.

During the month Barfoot & Thompson sold 188 properties over $1 million, and at the other end of the spectrum, 343 sold for less than $500,000.

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