Asking prices for listed homes soar to new high in national sellers' market

A $600,000 house listed on the Auckland market. Photo / Supplied

Auckland property sellers are making the most of demand for houses in the city, with the average asking price hitting a new record.

The latest NZ Property Report from realestate.co.nz shows the average asking price for the region's homes of $611,864 - up 9 per cent from this time last year.

If no more properties went on the market, the report estimates it would take only 19 weeks to sell all the homes currently listed in Auckland.

In other parts of the country, unsold properties would take much longer to clear with Coromandel topping the list at 201 weeks, followed by the West Coast's 131 weeks and Northland's 108 weeks.

Vendor confidence and lack of supply has also driven the national average asking price to a new high of $445,529, the report said.

Canterbury sellers contributed to this, with an average house asking price of $414,070, surging 13 per cent beyond that of a year ago.

Paul McKenzie, marketing manager for realestate.co.nz, said it was the first time since records began the asking price had topped $600,000 in Auckland and $400,000 in Christchurch.

"As the two largest property markets in New Zealand, it is notable to see the price cross this psychological threshold in Auckland and Canterbury. Clearly this reflects high seller confidence."

He said the 14 per cent rise in newly-listed housing stock nationally also reinforced that it remains a seller's market.

Home buyers looking for a reprieve will have to head out of the main centres. Southland, for example, had the lowest average asking price of $248,977.

The only regions to drop the average asking price were the West Coast (down 6.8 per cent to $285,657), Taranaki (down 4.6 per cent to $286,297), Hawkes Bay (down 2.1 per cent to $348,344) and Nelson (down 1.3 per cent to $449,858).