Asking prices rise faster for smaller Auckland homes

Price expectations on smaller Auckland houses have risen faster than bigger places.

Nigel Jeffries, head of Trade Me Property, has just released the December price index data and that explained trends in Auckland.

"The selling price expectation of small homes hit a new high in eight of the past 12 months, rising from $465,750 in January 2014 to $531,850 in December 2014.

The trend for medium and large homes has cooled by comparison: homes with five or more bedrooms have fallen from an annual rate of 11 per cent in 2013 to 7.6 per cent this year," the business said.

Nationally, the apartment market continued to show new record selling price expectations. '"Across the country, average asking prices for apartments in December rose to $431,900, up from $375,900 in December 2013.

In Auckland, things were very hot - this rise in price represented a 22 per cent increase taking it to new high of $436,900. This clearly reflects a continuing strong demand for apartments in our largest city," Jeffries said.

The average asking price across all property types for the three months to December was $504,300, above the psychological barrier of $500,000 and up more than $57,000 since December last year.

The Trade Me Property Price Index measures trends in asking prices for residential property listings added to Trade Me Property by real estate agents and private sellers.