Auckland property market volumes firm in May

The latest sales figures from leading Auckland real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson show stability in volume but a decline in value in the Auckland property market.

Wednesday, June 8th 2005, 4:46PM

The company sold 1,069 properties during May, slightly (1.6%) up on the same time last year. The availability of listings tightened during the month, reflecting market feedback that a listing shortage still remains in some areas where salespeople are unable to satisfy buyer demand.

There were 4,617 listings on Barfoot & Thompson’s books at the end of May compared with 4,774 at the end of April.

The average sale price dropped to $427,299, but general manager Wendy Alexander says the figure needs to be viewed in the context of the somewhat distorted average prices for the previous two months. The average sale price of $460,604 in April and $468,151 in March were both skewed by very large one-off sales valued between $3 million and $10 million each. She says the May average sale price is probably more fairly compared to the February average of $428,966.

“It’s interesting to note that while the average price was $427,299, almost 40% of all properties we sold during the month were for half a million dollars or more.”

On the rental front, the market appears to be cooling. The average weekly rent eased from $342 in April to $336 in May, but remains ahead of the 2004 average of $333.

The total number of houses and units let during the month was 592, down from 634 the previous month, which is consistent with the over-all trend for the year to date.

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