Asking prices continue march upwards

It’s a sellers’ market out there - according to new data from Realestate.co.nz which shows that prices continue to rise and listings fall.

Wednesday, April 1st 2015, 12:00AM

by Miriam Bell

Realestate.co.nz’s latest monthly data shows that, in March, the average asking price in New Zealand reached a new high of $514,712.

This was a small increase of 0.6% on the previous record of $511,412 set last month, and the third consecutive month of record asking prices.

The data also showed that the number of new listings in March was 11,870, which is a decline of 4.9% from the same time last year, and the lowest for March since 2009.

Realestate.co.nz CEO Brendon Skipper says the growth in asking prices in March was also reflected in different parts of the country with three regions (Auckland, Canterbury and Wairarapa) hitting new records.

Canterbury’s new high of $467,126 was a 1.3% increase from the previous record of set in July 2014, while Auckland’s new high of $766,912 was a 0.3% increase from the record high set last month.

Skipper says there has been no let-up in the increase in asking price, especially with regions such as Canterbury and Auckland experiencing new highs.

“With the slight fall in the number of new listings in March, sellers are in a good position to maximise the value of their homes.”

Nationwide, the number of new listings of homes for sale in March was 11,870.

This was a decrease of 4.9% from the March 2014 and a fall of 1.1% on the 12,008 new listings in February.

It is the lowest number of new listings recorded for the month of March in six years.

Compared to March 2014, Auckland and Wellington experienced new listings falls of 5.2% and 9.2% respectively – but Canterbury saw an increase of 3.8%.

Skipper says the national average in overall inventory of available housing stock for sale fell slightly to 23 weeks in March.

“The long-term national average is 36 weeks of stock. Many regions are experiencing low inventory levels, including the three major cities.”

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