Auckland sales up 30% in June

Harcourt's Hayden Duncan

However, the company said the signs of a recovering market have been tempered somewhat by a potential housing shortage.

Harcourts chief executive Hayden Duncan said that while June figures had revealed increased activity in the lower end of the market, "the national average volume of new properties entering the market is down 13%."

He said the elimination of more than 5,100 Christchurch homes had reduced the already scarce pool of choice for buyers.

"Given this, the time to sell really is now and buyers should act before a decrease in affordability arrives."

For June Harcourts reported a 30% rise in sales in the Northern region, including Auckland, while the average price fell 2.1% from $490,964 in June 2010 to $480,609.

The capital saw one of the smallest decreases in its average sales price (down 2.1% from $343,874 to $336,788) compared to other regions, and a slight increase in sales, up 2.5%.

Central North Island saw a 6.2% rise in written sales and the average price fall 6.2% from $356,141 to $334,073, though the 30% fall in new listings prompted Harcourts to advise those thinking of selling to act now, "as this scarcity of homes is showing an upward pressure on prices."

Christchurch figures have been impacted by zoning and further damage, with new listings down 26.7%, sales down 21.8% and the average price slipping 10.7% from $423,520 to $378,224.

Relocating Cantabrians have helped push written sales up 13.7% in the rest of the South Island, though the average price was down 6.4% from $327,266 to $306,450.