Asking prices in four areas hit record highs

General view looking across Mercury Bay towards Buffalo Beach and the settlement of Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula. Photo:/ Alan Gibson

Asking prices for residential properties hit records in the Coromandel, Hawke's Bay, Otago and Auckland.

Data just out from realestate.co.nz showed the Coromandel's record high was $579,676, up on the previous high of $574,271.

Hawke's Bay's high of $389,654 recorded in February was up from the previous record of $387,504 set in August.

Otago's was $323,367 in February, up on the previous record of $321,188 set in October last year.

Auckland's high of $866,080 was up from the $851,531 previous record set five months ago in September last year.

However, Brendon Skipper, realestate.co.nz chief executive, said that across the country, New Zealand asking prices were not at a record.

"The national average asking price in February was $565,861, only marginally below the previous record of $568,215 set in August last year. While these average asking prices reflect continuing vendor confidence, they do need to be seen against a background of relatively low inventory," he said.

Nationally in February, real estate agents listed 11,989 properties.

Skipper said that was a return to expected levels for this time of year following a shortage of supply in December and January.

Auckland had 402 new listings, up 1.4 per cent from February last year and its highest number of new listings for February since 2013, Skipper said.