NZ home sales rise 20% in July; Auckland, Christchurch lead

NZ home sales rise 20% in July, led by Auckland, Christchurch: REINZ

By Hannah Lynch

Aug. 9 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand home sales climbed 20 percent in July as the property market extended its recovery from the 2011 lows on continued strength in Auckland and Christchurch even as prices fell from June's record high.

The number of sales rose to 5,907 in July from 4,928 the same month a year earlier and were down 3.7 percent from June, the Real Estate Institute said. The national median house sale price gained 4.6 percent to $361,000, down from June's record high of $372,000.

"Buyer interest in Auckland and Christchurch remains the engine of the New Zealand residential estate market," Helen O'Sullivan, chief executive, said in a statement. "We are still seeing recovery rather than boom conditions when we compare the number of transactions in July 2012 with earlier years such as July 2003 when over 10,000 transactions were recorded."

"Buyer caution is also evident in the easing of the national median price this month and the slightly slower pace of transactions in July compared with June," she said.

Auckland and Canterbury/Westland recorded the shortest days to sell as house on 31 days. That's followed by Nelson/Marlborough on 38 days and Central Otago Lakes on 76.

REINZ said the national average median days to sell a house eased by one day to 38 from 37 days in June.

Auckland maintained its record median price of $500,000 for the third month in a row, while Christchurch hit a record median price of $335,000 for the third time since November.

“In the Auckland real estate market it seems that winter has been cancelled with strong demand right across the city, although the inability of the median price to ‘push on’ indicates that buyers are still cautious about price," O'Sullivan said.

The REINZ figures come after Quotable Value today said national property values rose 2.2 percent in the three months ended July 31 and have increased 4.6 percent over the past year, to be 0.8 percent off the market peak in 2007.

(BusinessDesk)

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