Asking prices remain strong

The national average asking price for July was $488,711, only 0.4% lower than the record achieved in June.

Three regions achieved new record high asking prices last month.

On average, sellers in Waikato want $394,806 for their homes, marginally higher than the previous high achieved in March this year. In Canterbury the new average asking price of $461,032 was about 2.6% above the record from January. But Central Otago’s average asking price rose to $782,682– a price that outstrips the record set in May 2013 by nearly 10%.

Northland had the biggest fall in asking price, down more than 14%.

The number of listings in Central Otago has also grown significantly, with nearly 13% more properties on the market than July last year.

While the total number of newly-listed properties for sale around the country exceeds the total for June, it is still not as high as at the same time last year.

“The number of listings should be seen as indicative of the usual seasonal cycle,” says Paul McKenzie, Realestate.co.nz marketing manager. “Every year, we see a surge in the number of properties in the market when spring comes around, and there is every reason to expect that the same will happen in August and September this year.”

The total number of homes for sale on www.realestate.co.nz this July was 39,906. This is about 3500 more than in July 2013.

The central North Island reported the biggest drop in listings, down more than 30% on July 2013.

 Gisborne had the biggest increase, up almost 15%.