Auckland house sales reach 11-year high for June month as winter starts to bite

Friday 3rd July 2015

The number of Auckland house sales were at the highest in 11 years for a June month, while falling from May as winter starts to slow activity, according to Barfoot & Thompson.

The city's biggest realtor sold 1,167 houses in June, down from 1,225 in May, though 13 percent more than the same month a year earlier, it said in a statement. New listings were largely unchanged on the month at 1,749, though 52 percent more than a year earlier, and Barfoot had 2,959 houses on its books at the end of the month, down 3.3 percent form May and 9.6 percent from June 2014.

"While the new government and Reserve Bank measures which are due to come into effect in October are likely to be having some impact on prices, as will the approach of winter, there is also a growing feeling among buyers and sellers that homes are close to being fully priced," managing director Peter Thompson said. "June was the third month in a row when the number of properties for sale at month end declined, and choice is now the most limited it has been since last Christmas/New Year."

Quotable Value figures this week showed New Zealand property values rose at their fastest pace in more than a year in June, with the Auckland shortage encouraging buyers to start scouting out the surrounding areas.

The Auckland property market has been a concern for policymakers due to its supply imbalance, and the Reserve Bank plans to impose lending restrictions on property investors from October, while the government has tasked its tax collection agency to police capital gains more forcefully.

Barfoot said the median sale price rose 4.8 percent to $786,000 in June from May, and was up 26 percent on an annual basis, while the mean sale price edged up 0.5 percent to $826,474 on a monthly basis and was 16 percent higher on the year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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