Auckland property prices inch upwards

Photo / Herald on Sunday

The price of property in New Zealand's biggest city inched upwards in January, but turnover and new listing remained weak, according the latest numbers from real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson.

The average price of Auckland houses sold by the firm rose 2.1 per cent to an average of $515,693 in the month, compared to the same month in the previous year, but were 2.6 per cent lower than the median house price last year, the company said in a statement today.

"January's sales were consistent with the pattern for the last quarter of last year," said managing director Peter Thompson."It's very much a case of the new year starting the same as the old one."

Barfoot said it sold 563 properties in the month, down 3.4 per cent compared to January 2010, and 5 per cent lower than the average monthly turnover for 2010.

New listings in the month came it at 896, 25 per cent lower than in January last year although notably higher than December's 737, the lowest month in more than a decade.

"The market remains weak, with turnover low relative to the amount of listings on the market," said ASB Institutional economist Chris Tennent-Brown. "We expect the caution shown by households in late 2010 will continue this year."

While house sales remained weak, Auckland's rental market was active, with average weekly rent in the month coming in at $416, up $5 from December and $15 higher than January 2010.

The property agent said the price increases were due to a shortage of supply, with 810 properties listed in the month, and landlords looking to "improve their operational returns on their investments".