The sales rate slumped back to mid-winter levels at the latest property auctions

Auction activity picked up strongly around the country over the last week, although the sales rate slumped a bit.

Interest.co.nz monitored 427 residential property auctions over the week of 14-20 February, up from 356 the previous week, which suggests auction activity is hitting its summer stride.

However, the numbers were still below where they were in mid-November to mid-December last year, when 500-plus properties a week was the norm, suggesting there's still some way to go.

But while the number of properties being auctioned was up, the number of properties sold under the hammer declined in both absolute and percentage terms.

Of the 427 properties offered at the latest auctions, just 156 sold under the hammer, which pushed the sales rate down to 37% from 45% the previous week.

Apart from the two weeks on either side of the Christmas/New Year break, that was the lowest under the hammer sales rate since mid-June, when the market was in the midst of its winter slump.

That suggests buyers are being seriously cautious in their bidding.

If that trend continues there will be a lot of disappointed vendors in the market.

Details of the individual properties offered at all of the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz, including the selling prices of the properties that sold, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.