Auckland house prices up 1.6pc, NZ prices up 6.7pc

Auckland residential property price rises are lagging well behind national increases, according to just-released Real Estate Institute data.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said Auckland house prices only rose 1.6 per cent from April to May, compared to the national increase of 6.7 per cent, although Auckland remains far more expensive than other areas.

Auckland's median house price was $865,000 last month, compared to the national median of $540,000, data showed.

Norwell said regional growth was strong.

"May housing activity clearly shows continued buoyant activity across a number of regions, which contrasts with the continuing stability of the Auckland region. We saw record median prices in four of the 14 regions we measure - Northland ($450,000), Manawatu/Wanganui ($269,000), Nelson/Marlborough ($483,250) and Southland ($238,000) - suggesting that the regions continue to hold up overall," Norwell said.

Sales volumes were well down throughout New Zealand on a year-on-year basis, dropping 18.4 per cent nationally but 27.5 per cent in Auckland, the data showed.

"The number of dwellings sold by auction continues to decline across New Zealand with 956 properties sold by auction, in comparison to 1982 in May 2016, a decrease of 52 per cent. Additionally, auctions accounted for 13 per cent of total property sales, down from 22 per cent in May 2016.

"When looking at auctions across the regions, Auckland saw 536 auctions in May 2017, down from 1277 a year ago, representing 24 per cent of sales in May 2017 versus 42 per cent in May 2016). Over the same period Waikato declined to 10 per cent of sales versus 13 per cent, Wellington stayed consistent with 6 per cent of sales (up from 5 per cent), and Canterbury decreased to 12 per cent from 15 per cent," REINZ said.

Properties are taking longer to sell: up five days nationally to 37 days, yet 40 days in Auckland.

REINZ also gave data on sales in price categories.

"Between May 2016 and May 2017, the number of homes sold for more than $1 million decreased from 1240 to 1066 sales, or 14.5 per cent of all properties sold. The number of dwellings sold under $500,000 also declined by 1103 between May 2016 and May 2017," REINZ said.