Sales and prices defy doomsayers

Real estate figures show property prices are defying a prediction of a downturn in the property market, as Auckland's steep price increases continue to ripple around the regions.

The national median price of residential property hit a record $260,000 last month, says the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

That was 10.6 per cent higher than the $235,000 median in November last year.

There was also an increase in sales over the past month, from 8191 in October to 9502.

Homes still took an average 30 days to sell, but over the past month, median prices increased in eight of the 11 regions, with particularly high spikes in Northland and Auckland.

Northland's median price went from $185,000 in October to $214,000, which institute national president Howard Morley attributed to an upsurge of interest in coastal properties as summer approached.

Auckland increased from $340,000 to $352,000 over the same period, partly led by apartment-selling in the inner city, where median prices went from $382,500 to $415,000.

Significantly more houses were sold in Auckland than in the same month last year.

In November 2003, 838 houses were sold with a median price of $320,000. Last month, 3046 houses were sold at a median of $352,000.

The only regions to show drops in median price were in the South Island. Prices fell slightly in Canterbury/Westland (from $227,000 to $225,000) and Otago (from $195,500 to $193,000).

Mr Morley said the results were "unexpectedly good" and showed the early sense of caution of buyers and sellers had been overcome.