Spring does not lift Auckland property market

The combination of tighter mortgage lending restrictions and perceptions that residential property is fully priced continues to slow Auckland housing activity.

"In September new listings were down, and sales numbers and prices were restrained," said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

"With the arrival of Spring, housing activity normally lifts, but it has not been the case this year.

"Rather, the market continued the trend which first showed in July of prices increasing at a much slower rate that in the past two to three years.

"While in September the average price increased, compared to August, the median price actually stayed constant.

"The average sales price in September was $919,849. This is 1.5 percent higher than for August, but is up only 2.9 percent on the average for the previous three months.

"The median price movement is even narrower, and at $850,000 is exactly the same as it was in August and up only 0.8 percent for the previous three months.

"Compared to what was happening to prices last September, the Auckland housing market is subdued and we are now looking at a totally different market to 12 months ago.

Sales for September at 1,051 were up 4.8 percent on those for August but down 2 percent on the average for the previous three months.

"New listings at 1,536 are down 10 percent on those for August, and are down 6 percent on those for the previous three months and down 20.8 percent on September last year.

"At month's end, available property at 3,060 was down 2.9 percent on the number at the end of August, but in line with those available throughout the past 12 months.

"High-end sales were unaffected by the more restrained market, with 403 properties, or 38.3 percent of properties sold, achieving a value of $1 million or more, while 7.7 percent of properties sold for under $500,000."

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Barfoot & Thompson is Auckland's leading real estate company. If you're looking for houses for sale, Barfoot & Thompson sell around one in three Auckland residential homes, significantly ahead of all other competitor brands. With over 1,700 salespeople and 65+ branches, they've got Auckland and Northland covered.