Latest Barfoot & Thompson figures show Auckland’s sales volume decreased for the third month in a row, reaching 675 in September compared to an average of 938 sales per month last year.
Thursday, October 4th 2007, 12:30PM
by The Landlord
The average price achieved also declined by 2.6%, down from $552,480 in August to $538,247 last month. However, the September average sale price was still ahead of February, April and June this year.
Director Peter Thompson says, “While you have to look back to 2000 to find a September that was quieter than the one we have just experienced, there are signs of renewed spring activity.
“There is always an upswing in interest in the property market as spring progresses and we have seen signs of that in the past couple of weeks.
“While I remain optimistic that the market will be positive between now and the end of the year, it will be steady rather than spectacular. Slower sales will mean there will be more stock available for buyers to choose from, so vendors will need to price their properties correctly in order to sell within a reasonable timeframe.”
Thompson says vendors also need to be aware that properties are taking slightly longer to sell, on average, than they did a couple of months ago. “Our ‘time to sell’ period is around 33 to 37 days rather than the 31 to 35 days we were experiencing two months ago.”
Barfoot’s property management division also had a quieter month with just under 600 fresh lettings, although average weekly rent increased slightly from $368 in August to $371 in September.
