Auckland house prices climb on high-end sales

Auckland house prices climb on high-end sales, volumes still low

By Paul McBeth

Dec. 3 (BusinessDesk) – Auckland house prices rose 5.7% last month as a quarter of home sales in the country’s biggest city were valued at more than $750,000.

The average sale price in Auckland was $53,743 in November, up from $524,000 in October and $550,217 a month earlier, according to Barfoot & Thompson, the city’s biggest real estate agent. Managing director Peter Thompson said that was due to an increase in the number of houses on the central city fringes changing hands.

While the average monthly prices rose, sales stayed in the doldrums, with 668 in November. That’s up 19% from a month earlier, but still down 23% from 2009.

“More than a quarter of our sales were at the high value end, a far greater percentage than is normal,” Thompson said. “However, sales are not as strong as in past year.”

Barfoot added 1,639 properties to its books last month, roughly the same number as November 2009, though the lack of movement in the property kept total listings at 6,179, more than 500 houses for sale than a year ago.

Average weekly rents rose $2 to $411 in November across 729 rental properties on Barfoot’s books. The real estate agency miscalculated rental prices in October at $417 a week, with incorrect adjustments for the hike in GST.

(BusinessDesk)

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