Barfoot & Thompson's sales dipped lower and prices moved sideways in July

Sales dipped to a three year low for the month of July at Auckland's largest real estate agency, while selling prices were flat overall.

Barfoot & Thompson sold 845 residential properties in July, down from 890 (-0.6%) in June, and well below the 957 (-11.7%) it sold in July last year.

Selling prices were just a tad softer, with the agency's average selling price declining $5,476 to $1,102,469 in July from $1,107,945 in June (-0.5%). That was still up $2114 (0.2%) compared to July last year.

Barfoot's median selling price was $945,000 in July, up $5000 compared to June, but down $5000 from July last year.

Essentially Barfoot's selling prices have remained flat for the time of year for the last four years.

New listings picked up a bit with 1551 received in July compared to 1458 in June (up 6.4%), while the total number of residential properties on the agency's books declined slightly from 6037 in June to 5943 in July (-1.6%).

"The Auckland housing market was in hibernation in July," Barfoot & Thompson's monthly report said.

"Sales and prices remained consistent with where they were in May and June and where we have come to expect them to be at this time of the year," Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson said.

"The market has just ticked over quietly during the winter months and has resisted drifting down while uncertainty around the Middle East and and an economic recovery have dominated the headlines," he said.

"The next step is for the market to find a sense of direction as winter tails off," Thompson said.