KEY POINTS:
When it comes to real estate, $1 million in Auckland doesn't stretch as far as it used to.
The public's seemingly insatiable desire to live in the "right" suburb, fuelled by the need for easy access to the CBD, good schools, and trendy cafes, has seen the numbers of properties selling in the million dollars-plus bracket rise by a phenomenal 78 per cent, compared with the same time last year.
But while that's good news for vendors in those areas seeking to downsize to a more modest location, it's bad news for would-be residents trying to enter stand-out suburbs such as Mt Eden, Takapuna, Parnell, Herne Bay, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
New Real Estate Institute figures released last week showed Auckland was leading a national housing price surge. From March to April, the region's median house price rose $9000, from $443,00 to $452,000. This is despite interest rates rising sharply this year.
The country's median house price jumped from $345,500 to $349,000.
High-end agent Pene Milne of Kellands Real Estate told the Herald on Sunday that "$1 million isn't really buying a lot" in Auckland's better suburbs these days. That view was echoed by Leila MacDonald, Barfoot & Thompson's number two salesperson of the year.
Milne said buyers seeking good locations were increasingly having to compromise their standards. "Right now we have a shortage of listings, and buyers expressing frustration with finding good properties."
Company founder Deborah Kelland said she had been "blown away' by the statistics. She said in the $2 million-plus range, the figures were proving even more startling, with both the number and total value of sales more than doubling.
"It's a bit of a wake-up call," she said. "We're seeing this across the board."
Real Estate Institute president Murray Cleland blamed the rapid escalation in prices on demand - too many people trying to buy too few houses - and said that migration was also a major factor.
Agent George Lancaster, of Harcourts Mt Eden, said from his 15 years' experience selling in Mt Eden "the Asian influence is huge", especially when it came to purchasing large sections. "There needs to be some form of lease arrangement or tax to buy New Zealand property, otherwise it's all going to fall out of New Zealand ownership," he said.
But several high-end agents said they believed aspirational Aucklanders, including some ex-pats, were behind the price rises more than immigrants.
Unlike many of his colleagues, Lancaster is one of the few agents the Herald on Sunday spoke to who is predicting a market on the turn.
He said he was already seeing signs of new interest rate rises affecting people's ability to borrow. "After one recent auction I have had four buyers say to me 'take me off your list, we're cancelling Mt Eden as an area, it is just so expensive'." He said this had never happened to him before.
Selling for seven figures
In top Auckland suburbs surveyed, 149 properties sold for more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2006. That figure had jumped to 266 sales for the first three months of this year: 91 million-dollar-plus sales in Remuera (up 68.5 per cent), 22 in Parnell (83 per cent), 50 in the Mission Bay area (100 per cent), 28 in Epsom (33 per cent), 18 in Mt Eden (up 200 per cent), 34 in the Ponsonby area (70 per cent) and 23 around Takapuna (109 per cent).
Analysis of the $2 million-plus bracket showed that while Remuera has the most sales, it is Parnell and Ponsonby that are on the rise.
In the suburbs surveyed, there were 72 sales of more than $2 million in the first three months of this year, a 106 per cent increase on 2006.
In terms of value, the $2 million-plus house market is even more buoyant, rising 133 per cent from $98 million in 2006 to $228 million this year.
* Survey compiled by Kellands.
