03-02-2013
Listings can't keep pace with interest: Realestate.co.nz
Landlords.co.nz
It’s usually a quiet month for real estate but it seems buyers didn’t take a holiday from house-hunting this January.
Realestate.co.nz recorded the highest level of traffic ever recorded in one month, with more than 1.5 million visits.
But sellers aren’t as keen to get into the market.
The website’s data showed 8849 new listings arrived on the market in January - a lift of 4% on levels recorded in both the previous month and at the same time last year.
Paul McKenzie, the website’s marketing manager, said: "In the last three months, we’ve seen around 30,000 new listings come on to the market, which is equivalent to the same period a year ago. However, sales have been up 30% during the same period, which has kept the market very tight.”
Seller confidence was reflected in the national average asking price, which rebounded to a level near previously recorded highs, of $440,507 (seasonally adjusted), a 4% rise from December and a 5% shift up on the same time a year ago.
"Auckland also saw its average asking price top $600,000 for the second time on record, while Canterbury’s average asking price tipped the $400,000 mark for the third time in the past 12 months," McKenzie said.
McKenzie says that with no foreseeable abatement in buyer demand or seller confidence, strong asking prices
Source: Landlords.co.nz