Auckland homes sell near record prices

Near record prices are being achieved for Auckland house prices. Photo / Getty Images

Near record prices are being achieved on sales of Auckland homes but new listings are lacking, says the city's largest realtor Barfoot & Thompson.

The company sold 746 properties in the month of August, 4.6 per cent fewer than the 879 sold in July and compared with 795 sales in August last year.

The market is showing "a pattern of modest sales numbers, prices at near record levels and new vendors hesitant to enter the market," says managing director Peter Thompson.

"The prices paid for those properties were excellent, with the average price being $930,090 and the median price $830,000. Both the average price and the median price were higher than the averages achieved for the previous three months," Thompson says.

"What is lacking in the market at present is listings."

The realtor gained 1,052 new listings in August, down from 1,154 in July and 1,331 in August last year.

Thompson says that's the lowest number of listings for the month of August in more than a decade.

"Given the near record prices being achieved, and market choice being at its lowest for nearly two years, the incentive to list in the current market has to be strong," he says.

The company is achieving sales across all price segments with about a third of August sales priced below $750,000, another third between $750,000 and $1 million and the remaining third above $1m.