Auckland house prices slump in June

Auckland house sales slumped last month as winter malaise set in among buyers amid declining demand in the property market.

The number of sales sank 16 per cent to 665 in June from a month earlier, and was down 23 per cent from a year ago, according to Barfoot & Thompson, Auckland's biggest real estate firm.

The average sale price dropped 3.6 per cent to $523,058 month-on-month, and was up an annual 0.2 per cent.

"Housing market activity is likely to remain very weak throughout the remainder of 2010, reflecting waning demand," said Jane Turner, economist at ASB Bank.

"Given the weakening fundamentals we expect to see house prices decline slightly this year, however, the low level of supply, as indicated by weak consent issuance and the low level of new listings, will limit the degree of downside pressure on house prices."

House prices are expected to fall at an annual pace of 2 per cent for the next two years with several years of subdued sales volumes, according to Westpac Bank.

To read the full NZ Herald article, click here

Posted: 5 Jul 2010

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