High value house sales raise average for Auckland

A lift in sales of high value properties helped push the average sale price for Auckland residential property to its highest in nearly three years. Photo / Richard Robinson

A lift in sales of high value properties helped push the average sale price for Auckland residential property to its highest in nearly three years, says real estate company Barfoot & Thompson.

The average price of $533,743 was attributable to more high value sales in suburbs around the central business district and along the eastern coastal suburbs, Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said.

More than a quarter of the company's sales were high value, a far greater percentage than normal.

The 668 house sales by the company last month were up 19.1 per cent on October, but were down on numbers traditionally sold at this time of the year.

In November last year, the company sold 862 properties.

"The volume of sales across the region has started to build, in part through vendors and buyers reaching agreement as to what is market value, and also through the lift which normally occurs as we move through spring into summer.

"However, sales are not as strong as in past years," Mr Thompson he said.

The latest QV value figures also show that Auckland prices have dipped only 2.7 per cent on average since peaks in 2007. The average house in an average suburb is about $438,000, as opposed to the $450,000 peak.

Property rentals continued their steady increase, with the average weekly rent increasing by $2 to $411, achieved in 729 new rentals.

Goldman Sachs & Partners economist Philip Borkin said the figures showed a seasonally adjusted 11.1 per cent rise in house sales by Barfoot & Thompson in November from October.

It was the first increase in sales activity since July and only the fourth month this year that sales activity had risen on the previous month, Mr Borkin said.

New property listings were up 17 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms, which may signal a lift in confidence, but could also be a late flurry after the typical spring lift failed to show up this year.

While sales activity rose, a higher number of available properties for sale meant unsold inventory rose to 9.7 months, the highest since February last year.

This, he said, signalled the likelihood of further downward pressure on house prices.

- NZPA