23-04-2012
House price data reveals ‘fragmented' Auckland market
Landlords.co.nz
Auckland house price rises continued to climb above the nationwide average in March, up 5% against a 1% nationwide rise, according to the latest Crockers Auckland sales price table.
However, figures for individual suburbs revealed a more mixed picture, with some areas recording double-digit rises against price falls in some locations, reflecting what Crockers sales manager Peter Holmes described as Auckland's "fragmented" market.
"We have pockets doing extremely well, whereas other parts are flat like the rest of the country," he said.
"We've seen some of the central city suburbs [and] anything that flanks the CBD doing extremely well over the past few months, but the further you go away from the central city it becomes flatter."
The largest year-on-year rise was recorded in Onehunga/Penrose, up 25% from $355,000 to $445,000.
The largest price fall was seen in the Waitakeres, down 19% from $515,000 to $415,000.
Of the 27 Auckland suburbs included in the table, 17 saw prices above March 2011 levels, with six suburbs seeing double-digit price growth.
The Crockers data also reflected the shortage of available property in the Auckland region, with year-on-year sales rising 17% against a 25% nationwide rise.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm agreed the disparity was partly down to a lack of inventory.
"Listings are still not coming through quite as much as the industry would like, we're seeing continued tightness," he said.
"Looking at the number of listings on our site they have been slipping for the past four weeks in absolute numbers, so it's clear there's not enough replenishment of stock."
The largest increase in sales was seen in Papakura, up 63% from 46 in March 2011 to 75.
Albany saw the biggest drop off in sales, down 24% from 95 to 72 sales.
Of the 27 locations, 22 saw a rise in sales - 21 of which recorded double-digit growth - while four locations saw sales down on the year.
Source: Landlords.co.nz