Auckland’s biggest real estate agency recorded its strongest March ever, with the average sales price for the city up 2.7% on the previous quarter to almost $1.108 million.
Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said that while the company had noticed uncertainty after the Government’s announcement it was changing to tax rules for investors, buyers quickly bounced back.
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“The week of the announcement, auction clearance rates dropped from 75% to 60% but now they are back up to 75%. There were 470 sales made last week. People are still buying and selling,” he told OneRoof.
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“March is traditionally our biggest month, but this March was the strongest trading month in the company’s history.
“The sales were across the board, from $500,000 to $10 million.”
However, Thompson advised those of thinking of selling not to over-estimate the value of their properties on the back of the March price rises.
“A few vendors are holding out for higher prices at auctions and then, when the property is passed in, negotiating. But those prices are coming down to what buyers will pay.
The Government's announcement of changes to investor tax rules only paused the Auckland market for a day or two. Photo / Supplied
“I’d say to vendors that the market is starting to settle, so don’t over-price the property or you may still be sitting on it in a few months' time.”
The 1844 properties sold in March is a company record, with the first quarter sales of 4054 homes beating the previous first quarter record in 2015 by a third.
Those higher sales meant that while new listings were at their highest in 15 years, at 2138, total inventory now left to sell is at its lowest since 2016, at 3394.
Thompson said that while the bulk of the sales were in the $1.2 million to $2.5 million price range, the summer period from mid-February to the end of April is when sales of higher priced properties peak.
Thompson expected the next two to three months to be equally buoyant, although any new housing measures announced in next month’s Budget could have an effect.
“But right now, we’ve got no sense of a drop in auctions or open home numbers.”
