Asking prices still at record levels: Realestate.co.nz

Realestate.co.nz reported today that the average asking price of homes remained at record levels.

The national average asking price of house sellers in May was $483,524, only marginally below the record set in March of $484,263. In Auckland, the average asking price was $685,246, practically the same as the record set in April of $685,426. In Wellington the average asking price in May was $453,850, while Canterbury came to $442,784.

The only regions that reported a drop in asking price compared to the month before were the central North Island, down 6.3%, Nelson, down 6.5%, Wairarapa, down 5.6% and Southland, down 6.6%.

Marlborough reported the biggest increase in asking price, up 17%.

Marketing manager Paul McKenzie said people weren’t put off by the high prices. “Buyer interest hasn’t dissipated, in fact traffic to Realestate.co.nz has risen 50% over the last 12 months. And traffic from mobile devices specifically, including smartphones and tablets, has grown by 90% in the last year.”   

Today, more than 40% of visitor traffic to Realestate.co.nz comes from a mobile device. On weekends, the mobile traffic component is even higher. Realestate.co.nz said that was likely because buyers were accessing information while they were out house hunting.

“The good news for buyers is that the available stock of houses for sale is steadily recovering from the historic low levels of August last year. There are currently more than 40,000 homes for sale across the country as at 31 May,” McKenzie said.

There were 10,745 new listings of houses for sale in May, which was a 5% increase from April. While new property listings remain at similar levels to May last year, down just under 3%, some regions experienced a drop year-on-year, such as the Waikato, which was down 19% on the same month in 2013. 

Gisborne had one of the biggest increases in new listings compared to the previous month, up 31.6% from April.