Auckland property sales come off boil

Photo / Brett Phibbs

Auckland property sales pulled back in April after surging the previous month, according to figures released by real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson.

There were 723 home sales in April, down from the 1,070 houses sold in March, the company said in a statement. Sales were 7.7 per cent up on April 2010. The average sale price was $544,975, down from the record $581,190 reached in March though up from $541,486 in April last year.

The average sales price tends to shift about depending on the portion of higher and lower-value properties. A third of the homes sold by Barfoot in April were valued above $750,000 and 52 homes were in excess of $1 million.

The firm had 5,580 properties on its books at the end of April, the lowest level in six months, it said. There were 1,033 new homes listed last month, a 21 per cent drop from April 2010.

"The contained level of inventory, positive migration and population growth, as well as the recent drop in interest rates are all positive for the property market in Auckland over the year ahead," said Chris Tennent-Brown, economist at ASB, in a note.

"We expect stronger price appreciation in Auckland than elsewhere, particularly given the tightness of the region's market," he said.

Barfoot said processing delays mean the release of rental property data will be delayed until later this month.