NZ house sale volumes up 15.5% as spring sparks market

Spring pushed up national house sales volumes which rose 15.5 per cent annually to hit a five-month high, according to the Real Estate Institute.

Property sales rose by 911 residences, from 5880 in October, 2017 year to 6791 in the 12 months to last month, REINZ said. Auckland's median price also rose 1.8 per cent from September to October to $865,000, the highest for seven months.

"It's too early to say if this is the start of the next price increases for Auckland, but traditionally we do tend to see increases in October and November as we move into the warmer weather," said REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell.

Auckland volumes rose 15.2 per cent in 12 months. Last October 1691 properties sold compared to 1948 last month, REINZ said.

Regions had an all-time record price high in October were:
• Manawatu/Wanganui up 20.2 per cent to $344,000;
• Otago up 18.2 per cent to a median $480,000;
• Hawke's Bay up 17.4 per cent to $464,123;
• Taranaki up 8.6 per cent to $380,000;
• Canterbury up 3.3 per cent to $465,000.

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Norwell said: "October saw the real estate market spring back into action with the volume of sales increasing nationally by 15.5 per cent compared to the same time last year. This is the highest number of sales for a month of October in two years and is the equivalent of an additional 29 houses sold each day across the whole month. It should also be noted that last year's sales volumes were impacted by the election," she said.

Foreigners are banned from buying our homes, mortgage interest rates are falling, speculation is mounting that loan-to-value ratios could be eased and many agents are saying the market has turned in favour of buyers.

Last week, Auckland's largest real estate agency claimed spring's arrival has made the city's house sales market come "alive", with October's average price hitting $937,277 - the highest point this year.

Peter Thompson, Barfoot & Thompson managing director, said on November 5 that was the top monthly average price for the year but volumes were also up.

"In comparison with where the market has been for the past nine months, October trading was extremely active. Spring arrived and the market came alive. The average sales price for the month at $937,277 was the highest this year and up 1.5 per cent on the average for the previous three months," he said last week.

Quotable Value said at the start of the month that Auckland values had increased by 1.1% per cent annually but fell 0.3 per cent in the past quarter. The average value for the Auckland region is now $1,049,689.

National values increased steadily by 5.4 per cent annually and by 1 per cent in the last quarter, putting the national average value at $681,802, QV said on November 1.