The property market in Auckland remains balanced and stable with homes turning over at a relatively slower rate in recent months as listings remain relatively high.

We are finding homes are taking a while longer to sell given the current stock levels, however, there is still a good percentage of homes selling each month and values are reasonably consistent. Sellers are finding that in a balanced market, prices need to be competitive from the get-go and aligned with current market conditions and buyer activity if they are to sell. The silver lining to that, of course, is that prices are relative; so, if you're buying and selling in Auckland in the same market, it balances out.

It's also worth noting that in Auckland over the past 20 years, property prices have nearly doubled every 10 years, as the median 10 year rise is 96% which you can see in the chart below (this data is using REINZ House Price Index). When you compare this to all of NZ, Auckland has sustained a relatively consistent higher 10 year growth in prices that are well ahead of the NZ total at 88%.

Regardless of the rates of values and turn over, the balance between demand and supply always needs to be considered in assessing market activity and property values.

Source

The market over the December period in Auckland asking prices levelled off, but continued to remain near record-high levels. In Auckland, the average asking price was $848,195, marginally below the record set in September of $851,531.

The total number of new listings across the country in December was down 3.3% compared to December 2014 and Auckland down 6.6%.

National inventory (the average time it takes for a home to sell) continues to remain near record low levels. The long-term national average is 34 weeks and in Auckland, the average time is 13 weeks.

The areas in Auckland that saw the highest growth in Auckland were Glendene, values rising32.6% over the past year, Massey values had risen 34.2% from this time last year and Sunnynook was up 29.8%. Onehunga values rose 22.5% from an average of $663,450 to $817,000. Birkenhead values rose 19.8% year on year from $774,150 to $933,750.