Auckland house prices up 1pc in December

Auckland house prices were up 1pc in December, said Barfoot and Thompson, but the market remains restrained, with few new listings. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Auckland's average house price rose one per cent last month to $573,071, the second highest average sales price for the year.

Peter Thompson, managing director of Auckland's largest realtor chain Barfoot & Thompson, said volumes were up too after 714 houses were sold, the best December in five years.

Volumes were also more than a third higher than in December 2010, he said.

"December was extremely active and it has given early momentum to January's market. In part, the strong finish to the year was assisted by there being three full weeks of trading leading up to Christmas," said Thompson.

"Although December was an excellent sales month, overall the Auckland market remains restrained. House prices are increasing only modestly, with the difference between the average price achieved for all of 2011 at $543,124 being 2.5 per cent higher than for the 2010 year.

Thompson said that while buyer interest was high, people remained realistic as to the price they are prepared to pay. The number of homes being listed for sale remained low in December.

Barfoot had 846 new listings in the month, with an average of 1220 new listings each month during 2011 - the lowest average number for more than a decade and 7.7 per cent lower than the year before.

"We also finished December with only 4583 homes on our books, the lowest number at a month's end for four and a half years, and 1282 fewer homes than at the same time last year," Thompson said.