Auckland house prices up in May, sales climb

Auckland house prices rose last month, says the region's biggest real estate companies, which is also reporting a lift in sales numbers.

Barfoot & Thompson says it sold 814 properties during May, a one per cent jump from April and 58 per cent higher than the same month last year.

Managing director Peter Thompson said the average sales price rose 6.2 per cent to $533,909 - the highest average price for 12 months.

"This was our best month's trading for more than two years in terms of achieving both high volume and high prices," he said.

It was the third consecutive month when the company sold more than 800 homes, a target not achieved once last year.

Thompson said there was a noticeable increase in demand for homes in the "more established suburbs" and 57 homes in the $1 million plus category were sold - the highest number in one month for 18 months.

"It all adds up to a housing market that is active, confident and stable," said Thompson.

Thompson said the main challenge in the Auckland market was the low number of homes available for sale.

In May, Barfoot & Thompson listed 1186 new properties - similar to the number in April but 14.9 per cent lower than in May last year.

Thompson said there was a noticeable 'cooling' of weekly rentals in May, with the average weekly rent falling to $379, a $20 drop, and the lowest average weekly rent for 19 months.

He said that if the market followed its normal seasonal cycle, market activity would ease slightly during winter.