Harcourts had a big lift in sales last month but the Auckland market has been flat for several months

New Zealand's largest real estate agency sold almost a third more homes in September than it did in the same month last year.

Harcourts sold 2316 homes last month, which was 32% more than the 1756 homes it sold in September last year, and 11% more than it sold in August (see table below).

It's average selling price in September was $539,961 compared with $513,608 in August and $473,784 in September last year, giving an annual increase of 14%.

However the number of homes the agency sold in the Auckland/Northland market has not increased beyond the levels achieved over winter and has fallen slightly for two months in row.

In Auckland/Northland the agency sold 641 homes in June, 668 in July, 646 in August and 636 in September, although that was still up by 10% compared to the 576 it sold in September last year.

The average selling price in Auckland/Northland last month was $841,502, which was up 23% compared to September last year.   

Similarly, in Harcourts' Central North Island sales region, which includes the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, sales have increased only marginally over the last couple of months but were up 84% in September compared to the same month last year, while the average selling price was up a more modest 8% compared with a year earlier.

In the Wellington region the number of sales was up 27% compared to September last year while the average selling price declined by 1% compared to September last year.

In Christchurch September's sales were up 14% compared to a year earlier while the average selling price was up 3%.