Auckland house prices climb to $804,000, Barfoot says

Auckland house prices climb to $804,000 as sales volumes drop in April, Barfoot says

By Suze Metherell

May 5 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland house prices climbed to a fresh record last month, while the number of sales dropped from March's peak, according to Barfoot & Thompson, the city's largest realtor.

The average sale price rose to $804,282 in April, from March's previous record $776,729, Barfoot said in a statement. The firm sold 1,070 houses last month, down from March's monthly record of 1,597, but the most for an April month in the past decade.

The real estate agency's numbers follow data out from Quotable Value last week which showed Auckland's property values rose an annual 14.6 percent in April, speeding up from the 13.9 percent pace a month earlier. While the average value was $809,200, according to the state valuer.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand introduced loan restrictions in October 2013 to try and cool the market, and is worried overheated Auckland property prices may lead to financial instability.

“LVRs (loan to value ratios) are materially affecting the sale of affordable homes,” said Wendy Alexander, Barfoot's chief executive. “157 homes sold during the month went for under $500,000, which represents one in seven of all homes sold. There is a good choice of homes in this price category but LVRs often mean potential buyers cannot meet the home deposit requirements."

Meanwhile the National-led government has been leaning on the Auckland Council to free up land and relax planning constraints to help ease the shortage of housing, which it blames for rising prices.

During April, Barfoot had 1,580 new listings with 3,151 properties for sale on its books at the end of the month, the lowest number on offer since January, and a drop of 13 percent from the same period a year earlier, Barfoot said.

(BusinessDesk)

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