House prices up - but experts aren't convinced

Economists have warned against reading too much into fresh house sales figures showing big jumps in prices and number of houses sold.

ASB economist Jane Turner said although sales were up 40 per cent in February, this reflected the usual post-holiday bounce period.

Real Estate Institute figures for last month showed 5228 houses were sold, up from 3706 in January, and the national median price rose from $325,000 to $330,000.

Institute president Mike Elford said the figures showed activity had returned to the market.

But Ms Turner said adjusting for the seasonal pickup, volumes rose only 8.3 per cent following the previous month's 6.8 per cent fall. Volumes were 18 per cent below the levels of a year ago.

"We place little weight on this month's recovery," she said.

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Posted: 12 Mar 2009

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