'Barely affected' vs 'signs of change': What to take from latest Barfoot & Thompson house sales figures

Barfoot & Thompson sales data out today. Photo / supplied

The latest data Auckland's largest residential real estate firm showed listings at their lowest level in five years.

"At month end we had 3335 properties on our books, our lowest number of properties at the end of April for 5 years," said Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson.

Thompson said that these figures suggest the Government's new regulations haven't led to an exodus of investors as some previously feared.

"New listings for the month were 1675 and while numbers fell 21.7 per cent on those for March, they were down 7.9 per cent on the number we have averaged over the previous three months. It suggests there was no major influx of new listings from investors abandoning the market," said Thompson.

Thompson said that trading in April was excellent with prices edging higher, strong sales and a solid level of new listing.

"Some will read into the sales data that the market was barely affected by the Government's March initiatives while others will see signs that the changes are slowly having their intended impact," Thompson said.

"April's trading was down on that in March but what needs to be remembered is that there is always a seasonal downturn in trading in April from March, and the trends seen this year are similar to those experienced every year for the past 10 years."

The Government housing policy changes announced in April included the removal of tax-deductibility of interest on loans and an extension of the brightline test. The hope is that these changes help to slow down the rapidly escalating price of housing across New Zealand.

The average sales price for April was around $1.11 million, an increase of 0.6 per cent from March.

The median price was sitting at $1.05 million, up 0.2 per cent from the previous month.

While the market continued to trade strongly, Thompson warned there was little guarantee of what might come next.

"There is still a high level of uncertainty as to future direction, and this sentiment is likely to remain until any announcements about housing in May's budget are absorbed."

Demand also remained strong at the top end of the market, with a total of 113 sales in April exceeding the $2m benchmark.

"For the second consecutive month our rural and lifestyle property sales exceeded $100 million," Thompson said.

"The high level of sales achieved in the first quarter of the year sees the lifestyle and rural sectors short of quality listings. Buyer enquiry has eased back on where it was at the start of the year but remains active."