Auckland residential property figures released today by Barfooot & Thompson show that the market was in full recovery mode before being stopped in its tracks by the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Confidence in Auckland property was high in February and the first weeks of March, and new listings, sales numbers and prices were at their highest for a number of years,” said managing director Peter Thompson, pointing to a 17-month high in new listings for March at 1763 and sales of 1096, the first time they have been above 1000 a month for two years.
“March’s excellent sales figures built on the platform established by January and February trading and our first quarter sales were the best since 2016.
“Without the intervention of Covid-19 we could have anticipated the market’s momentum to have run through to late autumn."
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The company's average sales price at $993,528 set a new high, and was nearly $25,000 higher than the previous high set in March 2017. The median price at $925,000 was also a new high, beating that of three years ago.
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The company recorded an exceptionally high number of properties that sold in the $1 million plus and $2 million plus price categories. Again, the 479 properties selling for over $1 million topped the number sold at the height of the 2016 price cycle, with sales over $2 million (61) the highest since March 2018.
The inventory of properties available for sale at 3969 is now the highest it has been since June last year.
Thompson had a positive message for transactions continuing through the Level 4 lockdown, with the help of online technology, meaning buyers can view listings on the web site and sales people progressing negotiations.
“While the close down is having an effect on sales numbers and will likely to do so until the level 4 is lifted, market activity continues to tick over.
“Although it is not possible to predict where the market will go in the short term, vendors and buyers might want to look to the past and take a medium term view of market prices.
Thompson points to the recovery after the economic downturns of 1987, 1997 and 2007 where house prices did not decline beyond 5 per cent at most, followed by a recovery within 12 to 18 months.
“Activity was high in the lifestyle and rural markets right up to the point when the lock down was imposed, and these markets recorded their highest sales numbers in a month for two years.
High points included Coatesville subdivisions coming to market, with small blocks attracting a lot of buyer interest.
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