Harcourts' average Auckland selling price dropped nearly $35,000 in April as more owners sold their properties to realise the capital gains

The average selling price of Auckland homes sold by Harcourts dropped by nearly $35,000 last month as more people in the region put their properties on the market to realise the capital gains they've made over the last couple of years.

Harcourts average selling price in Auckland was $795,429 last month, down by nearly $35,000 compared with the March average of $830,186, but still up by 14% compared with April last year.

And although the 660 homes it sold in Auckland last month was down from the 823 it sold in March, it was still up a whopping  41% up on the 467 sales in April last year, leading Harcourts chief executive Hayden Duncan to describe April as a "huge" month for the company.

Harcourts also signed up 644 new listings in Auckland last month which was up 11.4% on April last year, something the company attributed to "more investors and home owners looking to realise the capital gains they've accrued on their properties over the last two years."

The company said it expected average prices in Auckland to remain about 10-15% ahead of last year over the winter months.

Throughout the country the number of homes the company sold last month dipped from March as the summer selling season came to an end, but numbers remained well up on 12 months ago.

Nationally, Harcourts sold 2061 homes in April, down 15% on the 2420 sales in March but 27% up on the 1620 sales in April last year.

In Wellington the average selling price was $379,204, compared with $372,794 in March and $393,361 in April last year.

In Christchurch the average selling price was $529,436 in April compared with $523,247 in March and $476,700 In April last year.

To see Harcourts' full sales report for April , click on the following link: