Auckland housing demand picks up

Auckland's biggest real estate firm sold 814 properties last month, up 1% from April and 58% higher than in May last year, managing director Peter Thompson said in a statement. The average sale price climbed 6.2% to $533,909, a 12-month high. 

"It all adds up to a housing market that is active, confident and stable," Thompson said. "Restricted availability is a factor contributing to the price gains being achieved." 

Helping stoke a revival in the property market has been the decline in mortgage rates, with two-year loans falling to an average 5.9% in February this year from 9.6% in March 2008, according to Westpac data.

Low levels of home building activity combined with a pick-up in ne inbound migration is likely to create a housing shortage, which will support prices in the short-term, Westpac says.