Nationwide sales show double-digit growth

Harcourts New Zealand chief executive Hayden Duncan said that with the distractions of the Rugby World Cup and election out of the way, "New Zealanders have been turning their focus to real estate in a manner not seen in 24 months."

Duncan said the Northern region, Christchurch and South Island provincial markets had all seen "significant increases in activity" with the Waikato and Wellington regions following the trend of Auckland and Christchurch with signs of rising confidence.

All regions saw double-digit increases in written sales year-on-year, with the largest rise recorded in the central North Island, up 31.6% on November 2010.

The Northern North Island followed, with written sales up 27.6% on the year earlier.

Christchurch saw sales rise 25.1%, South Island provincial 17.9% and Wellington sales rose 12.4%.

While sales rose across the board, Harcourts reported a mixed picture nationally for average house price rises.

The largest year-on-year rise in prices was recorded in Wellington, up 10.7% from $346,527 to $383,778.

Prices also climbed in Christchurch, up 4.8% from $368,938 to $386,712.

The rest of the country recorded price falls however, with central North Island recording the largest drop, down 9.2% from $333,765 to $303,225.

Northern North Island saw prices drop 5.5% from $538,658 to $509, 277 while prices fell 5% in South Island provincial from $320,078 to $304,174.