A surge in Auckland house sales in December 2019 is setting the city's property market up for an active late summer and autumn, and a delay to the traditional winter slow down, new figures from Barfoot and Thompson suggest.
Auckland's largest real estate agency said that its December sales numbers were the highest since December 2014 when the city was in the midst of its biggest property boom.
Barfoot and Thompson managing director of Peter Thompson said the end of year market was the most buoyant it had been for three to four years.
“It was a fantastic finish to the year, and we’re expecting it to continue for the next three or four months before the winter slow down and then the election.”
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Auckland's property market ended 2019 on high, sales figures from Barfoot and Thompson show.
“Based on year end trading, the market is set for an active late summer and autumn selling season," he said, adding that the “switch went on” in the last two months of 2019 after a later start to the seasonal surge.
"You would have to go back to 2014 for December sales numbers to be significantly higher," Mr Thompson said.
December sales volumes were up a huge 54.2 percent on last year, while prices remained steady, a reversal of the situation in November when prices increased significantly while sales numbers remained modest.
"Buyers have reached the point where they realise the market is potentially ready to move forward and are acting decisively. There is more activity across all the sectors," he said.
Mr Thompson said the agency had 682 new listings for last month, the highest for December for three years.
“The strong December performance has left the market extremely short of stock and at month end we had only 3,191 properties on our books, the lowest number in any month for more than four years. Properties for sale were 13.8 percent lower than in the previous month and limited stock is holding back sales activity," he said.
Thompson says that all sectors of the market, the $500,000 to $700,000 properties that appeal to first home buyers and investors and the million dollar-plus properties for movers, both did well so now is a good time to put to put the house on the market.
“It was all over Auckland,” he said. “Certainly the higher priced areas like the eastern suburbs, Ponsonby and Herne Bay came into their own, but we’re seeing good sales all over Auckland – Manurewa and Papakura in the south, Hillcrest, Birkdale and Beachhaven in the North, Henderson, Te Atatu, Glendene in the West.”
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said the nervousness that played a “big factor” in house price in 2019 on the back of doubts about a capital gains tax and foreign buyer ban had now gone.
"The last round of auctions of 2019 saw a return to intense bidding," he said.
"Notably, there has been a firming up of values at the upper end of the market, with many homes in Auckland's higher price bracket selling well above CV - a reversal of the situation that many vendors saw in the first half of the year."
Thompson expects that now that the market is moving again, home owners will be confident to list their properties and find something to move to and that auctions are the way to go.
“Especially with limited choice, it does put pressure on people to make a decision quicker, and know that the price you pay at auction is fair for the market.”
Thompson says that the confident mood will flow on until the traditional uncertainty around election season, so expects vendors will be listing and selling before August and September.
“We don’t need a major boom, but there’s confidence. People are ready to talk and activity even over Christmas break was far higher than usual.”
