Rising Confidence Attracts Buyers To Auckland Housing Market

A significant number of buyers were drawn into the Auckland residential housing market in July attracted by growing confidence that interest rates have peaked.

“In July, a growing number of buyers decided that with mortgage interest rates falling and at current prices, now was the time to act,” said Stephen Barfoot, Director of Barfoot & Thompson.

“In what is traditionally the slowest month of the year for sales we sold 902 homes in July, nearly a third more than we sold in the previous month and a quarter higher than in the same month last year.

“In the last 7-years, only in 2022 and 2021, when prices were on the rise, have we sold more homes in the depths of winter.

“Buyers were attracted by a combination of vendors being prepared to meet the market and anticipation that prices may be at their low point given recent movement in mortgage interest rates.

“Those vendors who listened to their salesperson, and who were prepared to meet the market, saw results and capitalised on the increased buyer activity.

“The median sales price in July was $970,000. While this is a fall from where they have been over the previous 3 months, it is 2.1 percent above last July’s median price, which marked the bottom of the last price cycle.

“The average price at $1,127,639, was also down on that over the previous 3 months, but 5.7 percent higher than in July last year.

“Commentary around lower inflation numbers and the promise of further interest rate cuts led to an increase in confidence among buyers and we saw the re-appearance of multi-offers across the network.

“It has laid the groundwork for a positive start to the approaching spring selling season.

“There was a greater focus on property in the under $750,000 market in July, with 22.3 percent of sales in this price segment. Sales in the $2 million plus price segment accounted for 5.2 percent of sales.

“New listings continue to reach the market with listings in the month reaching 1518, the sixth consecutive month new listings have been above 1500. At month end we had 5446 properties on our books, a third higher than at this time last year.

“The rural and lifestyle markets experienced a modest increase in interest in sales activity in July compared to the previous 3 months, with total sales reaching $53 million, our highest monthly sales value in 4 months.”

Note: 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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