Asking prices for houses at a high

The average asking price for New Zealand houses has reached its highest level in four years, a property listings site says.

Figures due out today from Realestate.co.nz will show that asking prices nationally rose to $429,000 in April, just topping the previous market high point in October 2007.

The figures are being driven by Auckland, where the average asking price has exceeded $550,000 three times in the last six months.

Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alastair Helm said it was a sign that homeowners who were putting their properties up for sale had confidence in the market.

There were still not masses of buyers and sales volumes were low relative to historic averages - last year there were 55,000 sales, compared with a long term annual average of 80,000.

"It's not the market we knew three or four years ago, but it's a better market than we saw 18 months, two years ago."