Auckland price rises continue

The average sales price achieved by Barfoot & Thompson in March was $776,729, that's 3.9 per cent higher than its figure for February, and more than $17,000 higher than its previous record average price, set in December 2014.

Barfoot's median sale price for March was $711,000, which is 1.1 per cent higher than February's, and 9 per cent higher than the same time last year.

In all, 420 homes marketed by the firm sold for more than $1 million in March, 300 homes sold for less than $500,000, and in the last two weeks of of the month -- the busiest fortnight's trading in the company's history -- the firm sold more than 800 homes. All up, the firm sold almost 1600 properties with a combined value of $1.24 billion in a single month.

Andrea Rush, national spokesperson for qv.co.nz says the rate of growth in Auckland's property market is "exceptionally strong". However, property values are rising more slowly in Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

She says it is likely that Auckland's home prices will continue to leap ahead while the rest of the main centres remain steady with values either moderately increasing, staying flat or, in some cases, going down.

According to February's Housing Confidence survey from the ASB, the combination of strong migration inflows, low interest rates and strong consumer confidence means we can continue to expect robust demand for property and price gains during autumn.

The bank says low interest rates will continue supporting the housing market over the coming months and provide borrowers with plenty of opportunities to manage their debt-servicing costs.

Property values

Anyone buying property in Auckland understands that the CV, a council valuation to determine a property's rateable value, can only be used as a guide to a property's market value. Most of the valuations were out of date before they were published.

Now, the Property Institute is urging property owners to do regular checks on home values to keep them up to date.

The organisation's CEO, Ashley Church, says that if you're selling your home, or want to use the equity in it to borrow money, it's important to get the most up-to-date valuation possible.

"This will put you in a stronger bargaining position if you want to sell," he says. "And any increase in value could give you more clout with the bank if you want to borrow money [against your home]."

Church says that many people may not be aware just how much the value of their home has increased since last year's council valuation.

"Knowledge is power," he says.

Investors

And the writing may be on the wall for property investors with hints that anyone owning two or more properties will be targeted by the Reserve Bank.

In essence, it could be that if you own a home you don't live in, you will be deemed to be a property investor.

According to data from QV, almost 40 per cent of residential house sales are to people who already own two or more properties. The Reserve Bank's changes could come into effect as early as July 1.