NZ property sales pick up in June

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The volume of property sales continued to rise in June compared to the same month last year, with days to sell edging lower and median house prices gaining in the period amid tight housing supply, according to the Real Estate Institute.

The data showed the number of house sales that went unconditional rose to 5229 in the month, an improvement of 654 when compared to the same period last year.

That was led by sales in the Nelson/Marlborough, Auckland, and Waikato/Bay of Plenty region, which all recorded increases of more than 20 per cent.

On a monthly basis, however, June sales fell by 537 when compared to May's figures, a decline broadly in line with seasonal patterns according to REINZ.

The national median house price rose by $10,000 to $360,000 with some significant regional variations within this movement, the institute said.

June prices were strongest in Northland, up 13.2 per cent, followed by a 7 per cent increase in Central Otago Lakes, and a 2.2 per cent gain in Southland. Hawkes Bay recorded a 5 per cent decline, as did Otago 5 per cent.

Auckland continued to dominate the volumes in the market, accounting for 40 per cent of the national volume in the month, although the median price slipped slightly from May, down by $3000, but up $16,000 from the same time last year.

"The June results show that activity levels are recovering slowly with prices more or less flat, but we are getting strong indications from agents in many of our regions that the supply of properties is really tightening," said REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan.

"Rather than an influx of buyers, we are seeing very low levels of listings as sellers continue to sit on their assets."

Auckland, Manawatu/Wanganui, Canterbury/Westland and Taranaki all reported a shortage of properties for sale, according to the report.

Northland, Hawkes Bay, Otago and Southland had not as yet reported supply issues.

The national median 'days to sell', a measurement of the time it takes for a property to go from listing to unconditional, fell by 1 day to 44 in June compared to the previous month.

Canterbury/Westland recorded the shortest days to sell at 35 days, followed by Auckland at 36 days, and Southland at 42 days.

Northland recorded the longest number of days to sell at 78 days, with Taranaki next longest at 72 days.

Over the past five years the median days to sell has averaged 41 days across New Zealand.