Auckland property prices ease in June

_3 July 2008

Media Release

Auckland property prices ease in June

The Auckland property market saw prices ease but activity pick up a little during June according to the latest figures from leading Auckland real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson.

The average sale price for June was $525,316, down 1.7% on May. There were 556 transactions. This is well behind the 1,000 sales recorded in June last year, but an improvement on the 453 and 515 sales recorded in April and May respectively.

Managing Director Peter Thompson says, “The June result is in line with expectations. June is always one of the slowest months in real estate so it’s good to see the overall volume of sales has increased over the past two months.”

“There is a clear pattern emerging where vendors are hesitating to list their properties for sale unless they have to. We recorded 1,214 new listings in June, which is the lowest figure this year to date. Our stock on hand position at the close of the month reflects this with 7,122 listings on our books, down from a 2008 high of 7,483 in April.”

“Some vendors are still reluctant to meet the market in terms of price expectations but that’s probably just an issue of time. Vendors who need to sell within a reasonable timeframe need to be realistic about what the market will bear at this time.”

Barfoot & Thompson’s property management division reported a steady market in June. 610 properties were let during the month for an average weekly rental of $391, which is in line with the average to date this year.

ENDS

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