July sales and prices hold winter pattern ahead of seasonal pickup
Auckland's housing market closed out winter broadly unchanged, with July sales and prices tracking in line with the seasonal pattern seen across May and June, according to Barfoot & Thompson's latest market update.
Sales and prices hold steady through winter
The agency recorded 845 sales in July, slightly ahead of the three-month average but down 5.1% on June. The median price rose 0.5% month-on-month to $945,000, though it remained 0.5% lower than a year earlier. The average price, at $1,102,469, was similarly flat, down 0.5% on June but up 0.2% year-on-year.
Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson (pictured) said the result reflected a market that has settled into a consistent winter rhythm rather than showing fresh momentum in either direction.
"Sales and prices remained consistent with where they were in May and June, and where we have come to expect them to be at this time of the year," Thompson said.
He described it as "a good solid month's trading" that left the market "in good shape as we head into the spring months."
Sales activity was spread fairly evenly across price bands, with a quarter of transactions under $750,000 and 7% above $2 million, pointing to broad-based rather than segment-specific demand.
Listings tick up ahead of spring
New listings rose to 1,551 for the month, up 6.4% on June, lifting total stock on the market to 5,943 properties at month's end. Thompson linked the pickup directly to the seasonal calendar, noting "the imminent arrival of spring" as new properties began reaching the market in greater numbers.
Thompson said the broader market had proven resilient through a winter marked by external uncertainty.
"The market has just ticked over quietly during the winter months and has resisted drifting down while uncertainty around the Middle East and an economic recovery have dominated the headlines," he said.
Rate outlook clouds the spring picture
Thompson said: "The next step is for the market to find a sense of direction as winter tails off." That search for direction comes against a shifting rate backdrop. The Reserve Bank lifted the OCR to 2.5% in July, its first increase in three years, with major banks expecting the tightening cycle to continue from September as inflation sits at a two-year high of 4.1%.
Rural and lifestyle sales surge in the north
Away from the metro market, Barfoot & Thompson reported a notable lift in activity across rural and lifestyle properties in the northern parts of the North Island, recording its highest number of monthly sales in that category in ten months.
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