Bay of Plenty property sales double in a month

Bay property sales have more than doubled in a month, according to the latest REINZ figures. Photo/file

Bay of Plenty and Waikato house prices continue to rise with the latest figures for February revealing sales volumes at more than double that of January.

REINZ figures released this morning showed sale volumes were dramatically on the up, with the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region experiencing a 51.6 per cent increase last month.

The figures also showed an increase in median house prices for most of New Zealand.

The Bay of Plenty's 14.3 per cent increase compated to just 6.7 per cent in Auckland and 15.5 per cent in the Wellington area. However, these did not compete with record median prices for Northland (20.4 per cent) and Otago (17.5 per cent). The national average rose by 10 per cent to $495,000.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said: it was seeing a mixed picture across New Zealand.

Auckland is mixed: there is something in the market for buyers and sellers. For instance, although there are more houses on the market and median prices are rising on a seasonally adjusted basis year-on-year, sales volumes were down in February 9 per cent year-on-year on a seasonally adjusted basis.

"We hear anecdotally that LVRs are having an effect and banks are reducing lending, becoming more selective about who they lend to, what properties they will lend on and the terms. Recent media has noted the lower level of cash incentives being offered by banks, and this ties in with the feedback agents across the country are hearing from their clients."