Auckland Property Market Retreats In April

After a brief reprieve in March, Auckland’s property market retreated into hibernation in April, with sales numbers falling and prices edging down. 

“Based on the number of sales made in April, winter has come early for the Auckland housing market,” said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson. 

“We sold 473 homes in the month, a decline of 38.2 percent on sales in March, and you need to go back 22 years to find a comparable sales number in April. 

“The median price at $995,000 was down 2.9 percent on that for March and down 2.1 percent on the average price for the previous 3 months. 

“This is the first time in 16 months* the median price has fallen below $1 million.  

“The average price at $1,086,866 was down 1.5percent on that for March and down 1.8 percent on the average for the previous 3 months. 

“Vendors are accepting that to make a sale they need to adjust their price expectations, but they are not prepared to take any price just to achieve a sale.  

“It means that buyers who are prepared to commit are buying properties comparable to where prices were at 24 months ago. 

“In spite of slow sales numbers new listings continue to reach the market, and in April we listed 1090 new properties. While modest for the month of April, it gives potential buyers new options, with total listings at month’s end being 4684. 

“Trading in the rural and lifestyle markets to the north and south of Auckland was also modest but was more active than in the metropolitan area. 

“Kerikeri waterfront properties attracted attention and lifestyle properties close to Kerikeri in the $800,000 to $1,200,000 price bracket were active. 

“Horticulture sales were affected by softening prices.” 

*The median price in January 2021 was $975,000