Auckland Housing Market Puts Spring Lift On Hold

Auckland Housing Market Puts Spring Lift On Hold

With the approach of the General Election, the Auckland housing market fell into a ‘wait and see’ mode in August, with the number of sales in the month falling by 7.5 percent to 909 and the average selling price falling by 1.1 percent to $711,768.

“With new listings for the month at 1129, a decline of 19.1 percent on those for July, August was a quiet month in terms of activity,” said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“This was not unexpected as the market invariably goes quiet in the build up to General Elections.

“Buying or selling a house represents a major financial decision, and without certainty people put that decision on hold.

“It means the normal lift in market activity we see with the approach of spring is still some weeks off.

“Certainty will return post the election, and the final three months of the year are likely to see greater activity than normal as the regular five-month spring/summer pre-Christmas season is compressed into three months of trading.

“New listings for the month were the lowest since December 2013, and the lowest in an August for four years.

“The same trend was there for sales numbers, with August’s sales being the lowest for four months, and the lowest in an August for three years.

“The average sales price was stable, and has moved around in a $17,000 band between $719,000 and $702,000 for five months.

“During the month, the busiest sector of the market was for homes selling for under $500,000.

“A third (33.4 percent) of all the homes sold in August were for less than $500,000, an increase of 5.2 percent over the number sold in July.

“Sales in the million-dollar-plus price segment fell 11.8 percent in the month to 149, the lowest for four months.”

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