Auckland's December house sales reach sky high

It’s the highest number of houses sold in the region in any December since 2015

Auckland's December house sales reach sky high

Auckland’s housing market ended 2019 with a bang, with the number of residential properties sold up almost 32%.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ)’s latest data revealed that the number of residential properties sold in December 2019 was up 12.3% from the same time last year, at 6,285. Meanwhile, the number of residential properties sold in Auckland in the same month was 1,860 – the highest number of houses sold in the region in any December since 2015.

Bindi Norwell, chief executive of REINZ, pointed out that Auckland’s median was up 3.5% to $890,000.

“December saw 15 out of 16 regions with annual increases in the median house price and 5 regions with record median prices, reflecting the continued uplift in residential property prices that we've seen for a number of months now,” Norwell said, as reported by Stuff.co.nz.

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Southland, Manawatu/Wanganui, and Gisborne saw strong uplifts in price, with demand for properties outstripping supply and adding to the premium people are prepared to pay.

“There's also likely to be an element of increasing vendor expectations adding to the price increases as month after month sellers in the region are reading stories of higher property prices,” Norwell continued. “Wellington was also a standout region in December, with four areas seeing new record median prices - Kapiti Coast District ($675,000), Masterton District ($477,000), Porirua City ($775,800), and South Wairarapa District ($625,000) showing the continued strength of the capital city's property market.”

“Looking at the Auckland region, Manukau City hit a new record median high of $900,000 in December, with Rodney District not far behind with a median of $890,000. North Shore City also saw a 7.1 per cent annual uplift in median price, reaching $1,050,000 – the first time the median has been over the million-dollar mark in four months.”