By ANNE GIBSON property editor
Monthly house statistics released yesterday showed a turnaround in the residential property market, with a pickup in the number of house sales.
National Bank economist Cameron Bagrie said figures from the Real Estate Institute were the best news for the industry for many months and reflected falling interest rates and rising employment.
Seasonally adjusted sales volumes were up 8.6 per cent for the three months ended March, he calculated. This follows a 6 per cent drop in sales volumes for the three months ended December and a 3 per cent drop for the three months ended September.
"This is the first time it's gone up for a long time, indicating that perhaps the housing market has started to turn around, albeit from such a low base," Mr Bagrie said.
Institute president Rex Hadley agreed, saying regional sales volumes had improved throughout New Zealand.
But the numbers looked less rosy when compared annually. Sales were down on an annual basis, with 93 more homes changing hands in March 2000 than 2001. Auckland reflected the pattern - house sales fell from 2263 in March last year to just 2060 in March this year.
Using figures which compared March to February, Mr Hadley said total sales had increased $100 million nationwide.
The national median sale price rose from $173,500 in February to $173,800 in March.
Median prices rose in Auckland from $247,000 in February to $248,500 in March, Wellington ($189,050 to $190,000) Canterbury/Westland ($147,000 to $149,000), Hawkes Bay ($128,000 to $130,000), Taranaki ($100,000 to $105,000), Nelson/Marlborough ($146,500 to $150,000) and Southland ($79,000 to $85,000).
Median prices were down in Northland ($156,000 to $146,500), Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Gisborne ($163,000 to $160,000), Manawatu ($113,000 to $106,000) and Otago ($101,500 to $95,250).
House sales again on increase
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