December 2023 Housing Market Update

*Includes Barfoot & Thompson Auckland residential sales that have gone unconditional. Excludes Northland and commercial sales.

Auckland Housing Market Ends Year With Surge

The Auckland property market finished the 2023 year on a 12-month high with prices and sales  holding on to the strong gains made since August. 

“December’s strong finish to the year has set the market up to have a positive start to 2024,” said  Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson. 

“The median sales price at $1,045,000 was the highest for any month for 12 months, and 9.5 percent  higher than at the year’s low point in July. It was also up 2.7 percent on November’s median price.  

“The median sales price over the last four months of 2023 increased by 3.9 percent. 

“Sales in December at 830 were excellent for a three-week month, and nearly 60 percent higher  than in December the previous year. 

“While prices have picked up significantly since August, the rise has been steady and gradual, with  buyers being selective and price conscious. 

“Sales numbers in the last quarter of the year are far higher than in the same period last year and  are similar to trading patterns experienced prior to the big surge in activity in 2020 and 2021. 

“The consensus of those in the market is that prices and sales will continue to rise, but at a modest  pace. 

“The average sales price for the month at $1,191,031 rose 0.4 percent in December, and the rise  over the past four months has been 7.1 percent.  

“New listings for December were 666, and we started the new year with 4383 properties on our  books. Apart from last year, this is the highest number of listings we have started the year on for  more than a decade, giving buyers an excellent range of properties to view. 

“The average year-on-year declines for both the median and average prices shows that by the end of  2023 the market had recovered a percentage of the losses experienced when the market peaked in  November 2021. 

“The average 12-month median price for 2023 was $998,500, a decline of 10.6 percent on 2022’s all time high average of $1,117,000 and a 9.4 decline on that for 2021. 

“The 12-month average price performed even better with 2023’s value of $1,104,000, being a  decline of 6.1% on 2022’s all-time high average of $1,176,000 and down 4.2 percent on 2021’s price. 

“The growing confidence in the metropolitan Auckland market influenced the lifestyle and rural  markets in Northland, and the rural areas to the north, west and south of Auckland, with sales in  December in these two markets exceeding $56 million, an increase of 69.7 percent on the previous  December’s sales figure. 

“Rural and lifestyle property to the south of Auckland was in heavy demand, while in the north we  undertook a far higher number of appraisals than is normal at year end.”

Barfoot & Thompson knows Auckland best. It is the city’s leading real estate company, selling around one in three Auckland residential homes, significantly ahead of all other competitor brands. 

For further information, contact Peter Thompson, Managing Director, Barfoot & Thompson, by telephone at 09 307 5523 or 027 453 593. www.barfoot.co.nz.  

Released on behalf of Barfoot & Thompson by Network Communication (Dennis Lynch) telephone 021 963 733  dennis.lynch@networkcommunication.co.nz