Expectations that Auckland’s roller-coaster housing market might be trending down were dashed yesterday when sales figures at the city’s largest agency rocketed ahead, establishing an 82-year record.
Wednesday, April 20th 2005, 8:15AM
by The Landlord
And the country’s largest realtor, Harcourts, set a 117-year record.
Economists have been predicting that the market was set to turn. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander last month warned first-time home-buyers to stay out of the market. Westpac said it too was predicting a gradual price drop.
But Barfoot & Thompson’s average sales figure shot up from $428,966 in February to $468,151 last month, partly due to a large number of luxury house sales.
Director Peter Thompson said three big deals for between $3 million and $10 million and 11 sales in the $2 million range pushed averages up.
"Most of the large sales were in Auckland’s eastern suburbs," he said. "In fact, our Remuera branch had a particularly successful month, selling 47 properties worth a total of almost $60 million."
The average sale price fell from $454,345 in January to $428,966 in February but the latest numbers showed the opposite trend.
