New property listings in October support buyers’ market

It signed up more than 1900 new listings during October and ended the month with a total of 5646 available listings on its books – well above this year’s average of 4,500.

Director Peter Thompson says the average sale price recovered from the previous month’s dip to reach $546,679, but that sales volumes were still moderate. 54.7% of sales were for $500,000 or more, and 9.4% were for $1,000,000 or more.

However only 796 properties were sold across greater Auckland compared to the 2006 monthly average of 938.

“Our salespeople in the field tell us there are plenty of buyers in the market but there is also a wide selection of properties for them to choose from. It’s a situation where vendors who want to make a timely sale may have to adjust their price expectations to meet the market.”

Average weekly rent in Auckland spiked upwards during October to reach a record $388. Barfoot & Thompson’s property management division let 611 homes and units in October.