Harcourts' average selling price in the Auckland and Northland regions dropped by more than $50,000 in July compared with June.
Harcourts, which is the country's largest real estate agency, said the average price of homes it sold in Auckland and Northland in July was $670,656, a decline of $50,897 (7.1%) on June's all time record of $721,553.
Harcourts doesn't provide a median price.
However the July price was still 6% ahead of the average price of homes it sold in Auckland and Northland in July last year.
Harcourts chief executive Hayden Duncan said there had also been a significant drop in the number of new listings coming to market in Auckland and Northland, which were down 38% in July compared with July last year.
Duncan said although it was not uncommon for new listings to drop off in winter, the size of the drop suggested other factors were at play.
Some people were hesitant about listing their home for sale because they were worried they would not be able to buy again elsewhere, while others were keeping their existing home and renting it out when they bough another home.
But when houses did come on to the market they were selling readily, he said.
8 Comments
Wow. Just as average price is a poor indicator when rising, it is also a poor indicator when falling.
Don't know why everyone isn't just using median.
QV data is better - but their cheerleader headline will be "house prices still rising!" because prices are higher than a year ago (which tells us nothing about what is currently happening).
REINZ data is better still - the closest to the truth.
The drop in listings however is pretty reliable and can only be biased by any change in Harcourt's market share - 38% is a massive drop.
Dont get excited just yet .
Think of being at Rainbows End 24/7 , the Auckland housing market is a rollercoaster ride that never ends .............
Wait until the next 4 ,000 migrants arrive with money they have borowed at 2 to 3% from Banks, family and syndicates allover Asia , and in a despreate need for accomodation start buying up houses again .
My accountant is Chinese and he has close ties with immigration as he provides accounting services to the new immigrants. They're his supply of new work.
Interestingly he told me that the criteria for immigrating got so much harder late last year that the numbers dwindled. He said it was almost impossible.
I know the media have said the opposite ....
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