Home buyers active over summer

FILE

New figures show 109 Rotorua homes were sold last month, more than double the number sold in January 2015.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) statistics released today also show the median sale price for last month was $265,000. That's up from $250,000 in December 2015 and $255,000 in January 2015.

REINZ Waikato/Bay of Plenty regional director Philip Searle said the Hamilton and Tauranga markets were continuing to see strong interest from Auckland-based buyers with both first home buyers and investors active in the market.

"Smaller towns such as Rotorua, Gisborne and Taupo are also seeing increased demand from Aucklanders, while demand is strong in Eastern Bay of Plenty also. Listings remain in very short supply with the market being characterized as being 'hand to mouth' with new listings being sold very quickly."

In the Eastern Bay of Plenty, 53 houses sold last month, compared to 33 in January 2015. The median sale price was $300,000.

In Taupo, 49 houses sold last month, compared to 43 in January 2015. The median sale price was $370,000.

Nationally there were 5048 sales in January, up 4.3 per cent on January 2015. The national median price was $448,000 for January, an increase of $22,000 or 5.2 per cent on January 2015, but down 3.7 per cent compared to December.

Excluding the impact of the Auckland region, the national median price rose $20,250 to $361,250 compared to January 2015.