Auckland property prices spike up in November: Barfoot and Thompson

Auckland property prices rose sharply in November, according to Barfoot and Thompson sales figures, in their largest monthly growth since March and the second largest monthly growth the agency has recorded.

The average sale price increased $13,724 or 2.5%  from October’s values, reaching $567,489, according to the agency. This is up from $553,743 at the same time last year.

The March increase was $59,303.

The agency had 894 sales in November, up 23% from October and up one third from November last year.

"For the past four months the Auckland market has been ticking over quietly, but with the coming of summer, the end of the international rugby tournament and a degree of certainty as to the outcome of the general election, buyers and sellers felt the time was right to act," says Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot and Thompson.

High-value properties did particularly well, according to Thompson.

"The top end of the market was once again extremely active and in November we sold 75 homes for $1 million or more," he says.

Thompson says the prices are close to their 2007 peak values and the growth looks likely to continue with December listings.

"Given the number of properties we have listed for auction in December and new listings in the pipeline, we anticipate that the strong sales pattern of November will continue right up to the Christmas break.”

“We’re experiencing a December with three full weeks of real estate selling, whereas traditionally it stops at the end of the second week, we’re doing auctions right up to the 21st and 22nd. We are expecting to see figures for December substantially more than previously,” he told The National Business Review.

West Auckland did well, with the number of listings increasing almost 80% from November 2010 numbers.

The agency’s November average property prices in central Auckland decreased from $307,294 in November 2010 to $236,989.