KEY POINTS:
Median house prices were down 4.1 per cent in November from a year earlier, but slightly up on October prices, new Real Estate Institute (REINZ) figures show.
But while the median price was holding from a month earlier, the number of dwelling sales fell to 4279 in November from 4469 in October and 7837 in November 2007.
The figures follow data from QV Valuations at the start of the week also hinting at the possibility of some price stability after recent house price falls amid global financial turmoil.
REINZ's national median price last month was $337,500, up from $335,000 in October, while a year earlier it was $352,000.
REINZ president Mike Elford attributed the fall in the number of sales from October to a combination of factors, including the general election and the global economy.
"People are also watching for the effect of the interest rate cuts to come into the equation. There are many people who are still locked into fixed rates so it may be a while before these benefits can be felt."
The median number of days to sell a property remained stable at 44 days in November, from 47 days in October, while a year ago the figure was 36.
In Auckland the median price in November was 5.6 per cent down on a year earlier to $425,000, in Waikato/BOP it was down 6.4 per cent to $302,050, Wellington was down 6.6 per cent to $369,000, and Canterbury/Westland was down 4.3 per cent to $300,500.
Central Otago Lakes had the best performance with a 10.5 per cent rise to $475,000, while Southland did worst with a 21.1 per cent fall to $165,000.
In its calculations, QV found that national residential property values fell 6.8 per cent during the past year, calculated over the three months ending November compared to the same period last year.
That is the same level of decline as reported in October, and is the first time since August 2007 that the annual change in property values was not below that reported the previous month.
- NZPA
