Fewer properties being auctioned - more selling under the hammer

Fewer residential properties were sent to auction last week and prices remained weak but the sales rate picked up a bit.

Interest.co.nz monitored the auctions of 237 properties around the country last week (27 July - 2 August), down from 265 the previous week, but up from 212 the week before that.

Auction numbers have been under 300 a week for most of winter and have been bouncing along the bottom in the low to mid-200s for the last few weeks.

However the sales rate showed a slight improvement last week, with 94 properties selling under the hammer, giving an overall sales rate of 40%, up from 34% the previous week and 31% the week before that.

That was the first time the sales rate has hit 40% or more since the beginning of February.

However prices appeared soft, with just 28% of the properties that sold fetching prices equal to or above their corresponding rating valuations, which was a five month low.

The latest figures are broadly in line with other data such as Realestate.co.nz's monthly data for July and Barfoot & Thompson's July sales figures, which suggest asking prices are declining as vendors become more realistic in their price expectations, which is prompting a lift in sales.

The chart below shows the sales results by district around the country, and details of the individual properties offered at all of the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz, including the selling prices of those that sold, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.

• The comment stream on this story is now closed.

•You can have articles like this delivered directly to your inbox via our free Property Newsletter. We send it out 3-5 times a week with all of our property-related news, including auction results, interest rate movements and market commentary and analysis. To start receiving them, register here (it's free) and when approved you can select any of our free email newsletters.