Home listings in city at 13-year high

There are now more homes on the market in Auckland than there has been at any point in more than a decade, Barfoot and Thompson says.

There were 5382 homes across the region on its books at the end of February, according to the latest figures from the city’s biggest real estate agency.

That was an increase of 20.7% on the previous three month average, and of 10.4% on the same time last year.

Barfoot and Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said it was the highest number of homes they’d had listed since April 2011.

A surge in new listings contributed, with 2255 new properties listed in February alone, he said. “It is the highest number of properties we have listed in a single month since prices peaked in November 2021.”

There was a log jam of homes for sale, which was creating the largest buyer’s market since 2011, and it was due to a combination of factors, he said.

These included a high number of new homes reaching the market, owner-occupiers moving forward with relocation plans as the market re-emerged from the downward cycle and the normal hesitancy of buyers trying to get their timing right in terms of price and mortgage rate.

“This buildup started in August, and in the last six months has reached the point where buyers have rarely had such a depth of choice.”

But sales remained strong with 633 in February, up 54.4% on the same time last year, the agency’s figures showed.

Thompson said February was not traditionally a strong sales month, and last month’s sales were in line with their 2019 level before the market started to rise.

Prices often fell back when there were more homes for sale than active buyers, but that was not currently the case, he said.

The average price increased by 3% on January, and by 1.3% on the same time last year, to $1.11 million in February, but the median price was up just 0.4% on January, and down 5.2% on last year, to $970,000.

Rural and lifestyle sales continued their modest start to the year, Thompson said. There were sales of close to $40m in February, up by 25% on the same month last year. “We listed a large number of lifestyle properties in February and anticipate a strong selling season through autumn.”

Realestate.co.nz released its latest data last week, and it also showed a big increase in the number of Auckland homes for sale.

There were 11,570 homes across the region listed for sale on the website in February, an 11% increase on the same time last year. New listings last month of 4519 were up 64% from last year.

But housing stock on market was up nationwide, with an 8.1% annual increase to the national total (31,424) and a 64% rise in new listings in February.

Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams said stock levels were at an eight-year high, and the bounce back in listings revealed a confident market.