Auckland's largest real estate agents Barfoot and Thompson reported a 4.7% decline in their average sale price over 2008, and a 40% decline in average sales per month, compared to 2007. (Updated to include December 2007 figures following comments.) The realtor said that its average sale price in December was NZ$509,513 - up 1.7% from November, but down 9% from the month of December 2007, when its average sale price was NZ$559,803. Barfoot's average number of sales per month in 2008 fell to 547 from 915 in 2007, while its average sale price fell to NZ$513,597. "This is a really good result, given all the dire predictions that have been tossed around," Managing Director Peter Thompson said about the 4.7% average price fall. "This should also help lend confidence to the market and reassure both vendors and prospective buyers." For the week ended December 19, 2008, Thompson said Barfoots recorded 227 sales, compared to a weekly average over the year of 171. "We've certainly seen an improvement in the market since the Reserve Bank's most recent move. It seems to have tipped the balance in terms of converting interested parties into committed buyers," Thompson said. The average weekly rent over 2008 for Barfoot's property management division was NZ$388, compared to an average of NZ$370 in 2007.
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