Buoyant Auckland market leads house prices up

The housing market remained remarkably buoyant in July, usually a slow month, with strong volumes and the median house price notching up a new record, the latest Real Estate Institute sales figures show.

Wednesday, August 20th 2003, 10:32PM

by Jenny Ruth

The housing market remained remarkably buoyant in July, usually a slow month, with strong volumes and the median house price notching up a new record, the latest Real Estate Institute sales figures show.

They also suggest a ratcheting up in house price inflation.

The national median house price rose from $210,000 in June to $211,250 in July which was a 14.2% increase from the $185,000 median price in July last year.

There were 10,138 houses sold in July, up from 9,790 in June and 7,795 in July last year.

"These strong volumes tend to underwrite the national median sales price growth and tell us that the overall market is growing as a result of strong recent immigration and new dwelling construction, says real Estate Institute president Graeme Woodley.

"Clearly, there is still a gap between demand and supply which goes back to economic and population growth."

The median price rose in July from June in all regions but Nelson/Marlborough and Southland and the median price in all 11 regions was up from July last year.

Compared with June, activity rose in all regions but Auckland, Taranaki and Nelson and, compared with July last year, Nelson was the only region to see a fall off in sales.

In the key Auckland region, while the number of sales eased slightly from 3,579 in June to 3,570 in July, the median price climbed from $289,000 in June to $298,000 in July and was 15.1% higher than in July last year.

"Auckland continues to be something of a barometer of the economy and there are certainly pockets within the overall Auckland figures which indicate the growth in values and volumes is unabated," Woodley says. In Auckland City, the median price was up 34.3% on a year ago.

While the median price in Nelson/Marlborough slipped from $219,000 in June to $212,500 in July, that was still 36.2% higher than in July last year.

"We continue to have a low interest rate environment and although there are signs that rates could begin to firm, this is giving homeowners the confidence to buy," Woodley says.

REINZ PROPERTY MARKET REPORT
TOTAL DWELLINGS MEDIAN PRICE COMPARISONS FOR JULY 2002-2003

REGION JULY 02 JUNE 03 JULY 03

Northland 141,500 168,000 175,000

Auckland 259,000 289,000 298,000

Waikato/BOP/Gisborne 167,000 176,000 177,000

Hawkes Bay 138,000 150,000 158,000

Manawatu/Wanganui 99,000 107,750 111,000

Taranaki 111,000 125,000 130,000

Wellington 205,000 220,500 237,000

Nelson/Marlborough 156,000 219,000 212,500

Canterbury/Westland 141,000 159,500 165,000

Otago 106,750 124,000 132,750

Southland 76,000 108,000 98,000

NZ Total $185,000 210,000 211,250