House sales buck Christmas trend and hit new highs

Barfoot and Thompson sold 859 Auckland properties in January compared to November's frenetic 1105 sales and December's busy 1050 sales. Photo / Janna Dixon

House sales activity last month bucked the established Christmas and holiday slowdown to reach new highs, particularly in Auckland.

The Real Estate Institute has just released its December figures which showed a big split in price trends between Auckland and the rest of the country and a particularly strong December.

Last month, REINZ said there were 7064 unconditional residential sales, up 24.2 per cent on sales recorded for December 2013.

Typically, sales in December are noticeably lower than in November due to the school holidays and Christmas break.

Auckland's median price rose 13 per cent in the year to December, while the national median rose only 5.4 per cent.
Listings were at low levels in much of the country, particularly in Auckland at less than three months' supply.

Helen O'Sullivan, REINZ chief executive, said:
"The data for December shows very strong sales growth compared to 12 months ago and a much higher level of sales that we would normally expect for the final month of the year. The effect has been seen right across the country, with a number of regions seeing further increases in sales in December after a strong November. The normal December slow down hasn't really happened in 2014.

"Apart from Auckland, median prices across the country have moderated somewhat. For the year ended December, Auckland's median price rose by 13 per cent, but the national median rose by only 5.4 per cent Even Canterbury, which has seen strong price growth during 2014 has seen its rate of price increase pull back to under 2 per cent for the 12 months to December 2014.

"The real estate market remains split between Auckland, with strong demand and price growth, and the rest of the country. While a number of regions are experiencing listing shortages the situation in Auckland is acute, with less than three months supply available and demand continuing to be robust. Vendors are simply not coming forward in large enough numbers to meet the demand, despite the strong price rises seen in Auckland over the past three years," she said.