After years in which first home buyers have been forced to tremble through nerve-shredding auctions, estate agents are finally returning to the tried-and-true sale technique of posting asking prices on hoardings.
In November last year, Barfoot and Thompson had 1,044 houses listed at auction with 471 selling under the hammer. In February, 656 went to auction and 372 sold under the hammer.
Managing director Peter Thompson said he preferred auctions, but he had noticed a small drop-off in the number listed.
There was certainly a levelling out in the market and it would continue as new builds from consents issued last year became available.
"In previous years, we had only 3,000 to 5,000 consents.