Auckland listings at seven-year low: Barfoot

Chief executive Wendy Alexander said the housing market had reacted to the shortage of properties for sale, pushing prices up to an average of $589,251 in the city – an all-time high and an increase of 1.2% on the month before.

She said: “In June we sold 994 properties, the highest number of homes we have sold in June for five years, and at the end of the month we had only 4078 listings on our books, the lowest number for nearly seven years.”

But she said properties that sold much in excess of their CV were an exception. Buyers were still careful about what they were prepared to pay, despite low interest rates.

“For most properties, prices are edging up, and the average sales price in June was 3.2 percent above the average price in March, which is a modest increase over the three months given the tight supply of properties.”

Alexander said the 1245 new listings in June was in line with expectations but would not be enough to satisfy buyer demand.

“The number of homes being listed in recent months is in line with normal trading patterns over the past few years. What has changed is an increase in the number of buyers, and they are creating a demand that was not there 12 to 18 months ago.”

She said the demand was driven by renters deciding to buy and more people moving to Auckland.