Akl property prices reach new high

Auckland asking prices have hit a record high, but they have dipped across the rest of New Zealand. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The asking price for houses in Auckland reached a record high this month, as the property market across the rest of New Zealand regained some balance.

Figures released today in the New Zealand Property Report show Auckland's mean asking price, seasonally adjusted, has reached a record high of $568,820 - the third high in eight months.

The report said the level of new listings was not matching demand in the major cities where year-on-year sales were up more than 20 per cent.

The number of properties listed on the market dropped 10 per cent on month, with 10,174 houses on the market in April.

Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm said the Auckland price surge was understandable because increased pressure on the market by strong sales had not been met by numbers of new listings.

Helm said the Auckland market had been massively undersupplied.

"I would go as far as saying we have a chronic shortage," he said

Nationally, asking prices were easing - with 11 of 19 regions reporting falls, ranging from just 0.2 per cent in Gisborne to 12.8 per cent in the Wairarapa.

There were five regions in which the asking price showed a fall of greater than 5 per cent - Waikato, Nelson, Southland, Marlborough and Wairarapa.

Strong growth in asking price occurred in the Hawkes Bay and the West Coast.