Auckland house prices continue to surge

Posted by MarkL on March 1, 2015

Asking prices in Auckland led a country-wide surge in house asking prices last month, with the average asking price price of a home in New Zealand breaking through the half a million dollar bracket. 

Realestate.co.nz, which lists more than 120,000 properties, released their figures for February recently that showed the national average asking price was now $511,421 last month, up from the previous high of $498,471 in January 2015. 

In Auckland the rise was even more pronounced with the average asking price of $764,000, up $87,000 from 12 months ago and more than $200,000 from early 2012.

Realestate.co.nz spokesman and board director Bryan Thomson said the figures were a sign of "robust growth" in the property market.

Property commentator Olly Newland told the Herald on Sunday he was surprised by the rate of the rise saying he wondered when it would end. he also warned first-time buyers to stop looking in central Auckland or to consider buying an apartment. 

The Herald on Sunday also reported that TradeMe revealed a 26.5 per cent jump in prices for properties of one and two bedrooms over the past year. The expected sale price in Auckland was $449,850, compared with a nationwide increase of 15 per cent, with an expected sale price of $330,550.