Asking prices show confidence, Trade Me boss says

New Zealand’s average asking price broke through the $500,000 barrier for the first time in November, Trade Me’s data shows.

Thursday, December 4th 2014, 12:00AM

by The Landlord

The auction website’s Property Price Index measures trends in asking prices for properties listed on the site.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the record high asking price signaled ongoing confidence from vendors.

"The November data echoes the lift we saw in October, meaning sellers have continued to raise their price expectations to land at a new high water mark of $509,750. There has been a resounding resurgence in the property market after a pretty subdued winter and that all adds up to good news for sellers and a bitter pill for buyers to swallow."

Across all property types, the average asking price for the three months to November was up 13.7% year-on-year and 27.6% since November 2009.

Jeffries said there were clear signs across the country that the pace of price increase was steady, and only the West Coast reported a fall in price expectation in November. All other regions saw a year-on-year rise in average asking price, ranging from Waikato's small lift of 1.8%, through to the strong 24.1% increase in the Hawke's Bay.

Five other regions showed double-digit growth: Taranaki (+18.2%), Canterbury (+12.5%), Otago (+11.6%), Auckland (+11.3%) and Southland (+10.8%).

Jeffries said the data from the country's major urban centres reflected a strengthening market heading into the pre-Christmas period, with solid increases in asking price expectations from sellers across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Jeffries said there was a significant rise in price expectations for small and medium-sized properties in November, up more than 15% and 13% respectively to new record asking prices. The average asking price for one- to two-bedroom homes was $334,700. For those with three or four bedrooms, the average was $514,050.

"The lift in seller expectations remains strong in the major metro areas, but we've seen this spread wider too. For example we've seen asking prices for three and four bedroom properties in Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and Bay of Plenty all reach record levels."

There are early signs that the pressure in the Christchurch residential for sale market is easing, with the November increase of 12.5% down on October's 13.6% increase.

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