Spring surge lifts city house prices
Auckland’s largest real estate agency says 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 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. In January, the average sale price was $934,753. By August, it went to $928,266 and $929,757 by September. Barfoot & Thompson sold 884 properties in October, well down on its 1027 sales in March but also well ahead of its 593 in January this year. This year’s October sales figures were the highest in three years, it said. While October’s average sale price set a record for 2018, it is still below the 2017 average. The highest average price recorded by Barfoot & Thompson was $968,570 in March last year.
But inventory is up too, with a rising number of unsold properties: “Available property for sale also reached the highest it has been for
the past six years with total listings at month end reaching 4848, and new listings for the month the highest in a month for 19 months,” Barfoot said.
Not everyone sees spring is firing up the Auckland market. Quotable Value indicated last week that the warming weather was failing to ignite Auckland’s housing values but national values were stronger, up 5.4 per cent annually and 1 per cent in the last quarter, putting the average value at $681,802. But in Auckland, QV said the trend was flatter.
“Residential property value growth across the Auckland region increased by 1.1 per cent year on year although dropped by 0.3 per cent over the past quarter. The average value for the Auckland region is now $1,049,689,” QV said.
A year ago, Auckland’s average value stood at $1,038,722. Shore values rose 1.4 per cent annually, city values rose 1.2 per cent and Manukau values rose 1.1 per cent, QV said.