Auckland house prices dropping, unsold stock rising: Barfoot

Barfoot has released its October sales data. Photo/Regan Schoultz

Auckland's biggest real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson has released sales data for October showing both median and average sales prices down in the last month.

The average sale price fell from $928,213 in September to $910,537 last month while the median dropped from $860,000 in September to $830,000 in October.

Numbers of unsold properties rose. The agency had listed in its books 4451 properties in October, up on the 3829 it had listed in September. It sold 634 properties last month, down on the 658 in September.

Peter Thompson, Barfoot managing director, said the volume of sales in October was the lowest since February and the lowest in an October for seven years. He blamed the longer-than-normal time lag between election night and the formation of the new Government which it said contributed to sales numbers remaining low in October.

The biggest change post-election is that new listings at 1733 for October lifted substantially, he said. The combination of high listings and low sales saw the number of listings at month end reach 4451. This is the highest month end figure for more than five years.

Clarity has returned to the market, and it is well set for an active run in to year end. During October, 60 properties sold for under $500,000 and 225 for under $750,000 - a third of all sales.

A third of all sales were also for in excess of $1 million. Rural and lifestyle property sales mirrored what occurred in the City. New listings increased, and buyers remained cautious.