May 2015 housing market update
| Time period | Number of sales* | Total value of sales |
|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | 1225 properties | $1,007,131,530 |
| May 2014 | 1109 properties | $779,589,578 |
| 12 months to May 2015 | 12666 properties | $9,528,791,048 |
| 12 months to May 2014 | 12662 properties | $8,521,834,169 |
*Includes Barfoot & Thompson Auckland residential sales that have gone unconditional. Excludes Northland and commercial sales.
Buyers remain confident in stability of Auckland property market
Buyers continued to have confidence in the stability of Auckland residential property prices, and in May the average price increased to a new all-time high of $822,148.
"May's average price was 2.2 percent higher than in April, and since February we have seen the average price increase by 10 percent," said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson.
"The median price in May at $750,000 declined by $3500, or 0.5 percent, over that for April but since February has increased by 9.2 percent.
"In May sales activity was extremely strong with sales numbers up over those for April by 14.5 percent.
"Buyers are mindful that prices are at an all-time high, but the combination of a sound economy, low mortgage rates and a housing shortage gives them confidence prices are not on the verge of retreating.
"Not unexpectedly, measures announced in the May budget have had no impact on market activity last month.
"If the budget initiatives are to have any influence they are likely to show up in June’s activity.
"With sales in May at 1225 it was the third month in a row when we sold more than 1000 homes in a month. “It was something we never achieved in 2014.
"We had a major listing drive in April and early May, and through this achieved 1740 new listings in May, our highest number in a May for 8 years.
"As a consequence of high sales in May by month end we had only 3060 properties on our books. There have been only two months over the past 16 months when we have ended the month with a lower number of properties.
"In the past decade, only in 2013 have we been able to offer such limited choice as we entered winter.
"Sales of properties for in excess of $1 million attracted strong buyer interest, and we sold 362 properties in this high end category, the second highest number on record behind March’s 420.
"Property sales for under $500,000 at 163 were, for the third consecutive month, below the number of $1 million sales."