By Bernard Hickey
Auckland's biggest real estate agency group, Barfoot and Thompson, has reported it sold 750 houses in April, which was down 39.8% from 1,246 sold in March and up 3.7% from April a year ago.
This is a significant slowing of the annual growth rate of sales from the previous month, when growth from a year ago was 16.4%.
The average house price in April was NZ$568,018, down 0.5% from NZ$571,076 in March, but up 4.2% from the average in April 2011.
Barfoot and Thompson's Managing Director Peter Thompson said: "Prices are not running hot and prices above realistic valuations are the exception and not the norm."
Thompson said March and April normally represented the high point of summer sales.
"Given the level of buyer interest at present and the low level of choice, prices are likely to hold firm through May," he said.
The Barfoot figures are watched closely because they are first out for the latest month and Barfoots is the biggest agency group in the country's biggest -- and often leading -- housing market.
New listings also fell in April from May, but less than the number of sales. New listings were down 17.6% to 1,266 from 1,537 in March. However, the number of new listings was up 22.5% in April from a year ago.
Total listings were 4,621 at the end of April, down from 4,771 at the end of March and down from 5,580 at the end of April a year ago.
Sales often drop off in April from March as the spring and summer Open home season peters out and school and public holidays (Easter, Anzac Day) disrupt activity.
(Adds charts below, listings numbers)
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