Auckland property prices up 2.5pc in May

New Zealand has myriad property markets fuelled by a vast range of dynamics. Big cities, especially Auckland distort broad statistics. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The Auckland housing market had its busiest May trading in seven years, said agency Barfoot and Thompson this morning, with average sales prices increasing by 2.5 per cent from the month before to $582,285.

Company managing director Peter Thompson said there were 1165 sales during the month - up 31 per cent from the same month last year and a 55.3 per cent rise from the month before.

Thompson said there were no signs of any slow down that usually happened as winter approached.

"A significant number of new listings, keenly priced mortgage lending rates, fine weather and a large pool of potential buyers all played their part in the level of activity achieved," he said.

The company, Auckland's largest, listed 1421 properties during May, up 12.2 per cent from April.

The new listings were insufficient to meet buyer demand, said Thompson and at the end of the month the company had 4356 homes on our books, the lowest number in five years.

"The low number of new homes built in past years, coupled with Auckland's population growth, has created a situation where supply remains the issue, and this is reflected in the prices being obtained," said Thompson, with the highest ever average price of $582,000.

- HERALD ONLINE