Auckland Property Market Severely Curbed But Not Shut Down By Lockdown

Online technology gave the Auckland property market limited ability to operate in September and, although sales activity was severely curbed, it coped more effectively than during last year’s Covid lockdown.

“The restrictions and restraints on open homes and viewings had a major impact on sales volumes and trading patterns, and these in turn resulted in both the median and average sales prices edging lower,” said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“The average sales price for the month at $1,132,552 fell back by 4.2 per cent on August’s price and the median price at $1,100,000 fell 2.7 per cent.

“These average and median price declines had more to do with apartment sales and the price categories in which sales occurred than buyer resistance to market prices.

“In September, 23.1 per cent of all the homes and apartments we sold were settled for under $750,000 compared to only 18.9 per cent in July – the last month of trading not affected by the latest Covid lockdown restrictions.

“This anomaly, combined with the artificially low number of sales in the month, had a marked influence on the average and median prices for September.

“The average sales price in September was 13.6 per cent higher than that for September last year and the median price was 18.3 per cent higher.

“Sales for the month at 666 were down a third on those for last month. Given all of September’s trading was conducted in lockdown, sales of 666 in the month was an outstanding result.

“The level of new listings in September at 977 was also impressive, especially when seen against the challenges vendors faced on putting the final touches to their pre-listing activity. While new listings during the month were down nearly a quarter on those for August, it is four times the number of new listings when we went into lockdown in April last year.

“The public is now far more accepting of the use of online technology and services such as virtual viewing, and this is helping the market to continue to operate in an environment where lockdowns are likely to be common for some time yet.

“The lockdown is having a major impact on the livelihoods of those involved in the real estate profession, including those that provide support services such as photography, video, staging, valuations and building reports.

“At month end, we had 2727 properties for sale, an extremely low number given that we are at the start of spring and the summer high-season is ahead of us.

“Feedback from branches is that there is strong inquiry among vendors and buyers and that the moment we move to level 2 lockdown there will be a strong surge in listings and sales.

“Activity in the rural and lifestyle markets in the rural parts of the Auckland region was restricted by the combination of lack of listings in all market sectors and the lockdown regulations. Sales for the month at $55 million was the lowest month’s trading in this sector since June last year.

“There is strong demand for bare one-hectare plots at present, as buyers seek to counter the shortage of existing homes for sale on small blocks.

“The pipeline of forwarded bookings and the level of inquiry suggests the rural and lifestyle markets will be active once lockdown restrictions are lifted.”

Barfoot& Thompson knows Auckland best.It is the city’s leading real estate company, selling around one in three Auckland residential homes, significantly ahead of all other competitor brands.

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