Big price house sales booming

The volume of sales of Auckland homes worth more than $1 million continues to break record levels. The number sold in the three months ended July totalled 149, breaking the previous record of 133 set in the previous three months, according to Bayleys Research.

That was 88 more sales than in the three months ended July last year. Bayleys says the latest figures suggest the April quarter result "was not a coincidental event, but a reflection of the strength at the top end of Auckland’s residential market."

Nevertheless, sales in the top 15% by price (that is all sales of houses for more than $467,000) rose only 0.6% in the July quarter and the median price in that bracket fell 0.8%.

Bayleys says this end of the market "probably deserves the rest." The median price in the bracket has risen 18% in 18 months, it says while the number of transactions each quarter has risen 72% in the same period.

"In the context of the last two years, just maintaining the current levels was an achievement in itself." The top end of the residential market has grown 41% in volume and the total value of sales is up 70% on two years ago, it says.

Another measure of how active the market is, the number of days a house needs to be on the market before selling, has contracted sharply. Houses in the top 15% price bracket are now taking only 49 days to sell on average, a record low and the sixth consecutive quarterly decrease.

In January this year, it took an average 73 days to sell a house in Auckland, Bayleys says.

In the Auckland market overall, house sales were up 1.4% in the July quarter on the previous three months and 12% above the same three months last year. The median house price in the latest quarter was a record $261,833.

"With a very much business as usual feel about the market, the expectation is that the Auckland residential property market should continue to perform at or near current levels with some seasonal fluctuation for the remainder of this year," Bayleys says.