Bay property listings slow

Simon Martin

Bay of Plenty property owners had lower expectations of how much their property would sell for last month, new figures show.

Average asking prices fell month on month by 2.5 per cent to $427,501, according to the latest figures from realestate.co.nz

The number of listings compared to March 2013 dropped 6.6 per cent to 883.

Nationwide average asking prices for newly listed residential properties rose to a new record high last month to $484,263 - up 9 per cent on a year ago - driven by renewed seller confidence in the major centres.

New listings in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch contributed to a slight overall monthly lift in listings from 12,167 to 12,488. However, that was still 1.9 per cent down on a year ago.

Bay of Plenty Harcourts Advantage managing director Simon Martin said the drop in asking price was a "pretty minor change".

"It would almost indicate that things are sitting pretty level."

His company's listings were "static" for its area of coverage which included Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Te Puke and part of the Western Bay.

Realestate.co.nz marketing manager Paul McKenzie, said seller confidence in the major centres was rising, buoyed by strong demand, suggesting that asking prices would continue to rise. The record high average asking price was driven up by new record asking prices in Auckland ($683,169), Wellington ($469,487), and Waikato ($393,612), he said.