It appears a sense of normality may have returned to the Auckland housing market with June property sales more in line with traditional pre-Covid sales patterns for the first month of winter.
“The current housing market cycle is probably one of hardest Aucklanders have been through in recent years,” says Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot & Thompson.
“And while it is still tough, there continues to be positive signs we are now entering into a period of more stability.”
“With 711 sales during the month, the market is once again comparable with the same month pre-pandemic and 3.9 per cent higher than June 2022, as sales numbers continuing to track back up following April’s record low.
“June’s average sales price at $1,097,896 was up 2.5 per cent on the previous month’s average and sat 1 per cent higher when compared to the average price of the three months preceding. The medium price at $995,000 increased by 4.2 per cent when compared to May.
“When all recent house price rises and falls are taken out of the equation, the only period we can meaningfully compare current house prices to is 2019 when we were last in a true market-driven cycle. Both the average and median sales price achieved during June are around 17 per cent higher when compared to the same month four years ago.
“We are seeing an increase in multi-offer bids on properties and our auction rooms have been busy throughout the month. Although the increased activity is not driving up prices, it does indicate confidence is returning, which is great news for both vendors and buyers.
“New listings continued to come into the market with 1266 during June which is in line with what we’d expect as we enter the winter period. This sense of familiarity is reassuring against the current back drop and is a further sign for cautious optimism.
“At month’s end, we had 4277 listings on our books, giving buyers an excellent range of properties across all price brackets.
“The high end of the market continued to show resilience with 48 homes over $2 million sold in June, knocking May off the second highest monthly sales spot in this category.
“Properties under $750,000 were also in high demand, with 180 sold during the month.
“There were 24 rural and lifestyle properties sold in June and, although this is relatively modest number, it’s the third busiest month of trading this year reflecting that buyers and vendors are getting closer in their thinking on what’s fair for market value.”
There was also more activity in this sector during the month, with new appraisals and larger numbers of buyers attending open homes.
