Barfoot's average price goes past $900,000 for first time in June

Property

Barfoot & Thompson's prices set new records in June, less than 6% of sales were for less than $500,000

5th Jul 16, 10:49am by Greg Ninness

The Auckland property market remains red hot with Barfoot & Thompson's average selling price passing $900,000 for the first time and 38% of the homes it sold in June selling for more than $1 million. Just 5.7% sold for less than $500,000.

The average price of the homes sold by the agency, Auckland's largest by a substantial margin, in June hit a new high,of $908,343 in June compared to $874,623 (+3.9%) in May and $826,474 in June last year (+9.9%).

The median price of homes sold by the agency, also hit a new record high $839,500 in June, up 3.7% compared to May and up 6.1% compared to June last year.

Sales were steady, with the company recording 1,168 unconditional sales in June, down 10.6% from the 1306 it recorded in May, but almost unchanged from the 1,167 unconditional sales in June last year.

The agency signed up 1,770 new listings in June which was down 7.1% compared to May, but up 1.2% compared to June last year.

At the end of last month it had 2936 homes listed for sale on it books, down 2.6% compared to May and down 0.8% compared to June last year.

"The moderate increases in the average sales and median prices are a measure of a very tight supply situation," Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said.

"At the same time it demonstrates that residential purchasers are maintaining a level head in terms of the value they see in the properties on offer.

"These are signs that vendors are similarly realistic, even in a constrained market."

Of the the 1,168 homes the company sold in June, 446 (38.2%) sold for more than $1 million, while just 67 (5.7%) sold for less than $500,000.

Barfoot Auckland

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47 Comments

by macbet | 5th Jul 16, 11:00am 1467673228

You know it's bad when the estate agents are trying to talk the market down off the ledge.

by hobo | 6th Jul 16, 10:54am 1467759295

There is some nervousness out there, by all quarters, but they have nothing to worry about. In Auckland there is nothing that can be done about it. Not even the Reserve Bank will be able to stop it no matter what restrictions they put in place.

The reason being, no one can actually tackle the real cause of the issue. It won't be long before the average house price in Auckland will be $2 million.

by nzakl | 5th Jul 16, 11:04am 1467673468

Congratulation PM. You are been successful in your goal of rising house price and putting the dreams of many kiwi down the drain.

by Yvil | 5th Jul 16, 8:53pm 1467708785

More Kiwis own than not, so most Kiwis are happy with the increase

by xelnaga | 5th Jul 16, 11:08am 1467673732

It's beyond all hope now.

by BigDaddy | 5th Jul 16, 11:18am 1467674319

What are you complaining about?
The monthly price rise was only $30,000 approx.
Just small change for most people.

by Crazy Horse | 5th Jul 16, 11:33am 1467675228

BigDaddy .... all well and good when you ALREADY have a "portfolio" of properties ....but I now think it is time the taxpayer stopped subsidising landlords through "negative" gearing ....let's face it, the "free market" which is Auckland's case is BS anyway, with cheap "funny munny' from overseas etc etc
So here's a suggestion - why not let folks with only one home offset their mortgage interest payments against their salary??? ...I can hear the screams from here for the "rentier" classes ...but what is good for the goose, is good for the gander !!

by Stephen Hulme | 5th Jul 16, 11:35am 1467675336

Yes, indeed. Wouldn't get you a ticket to a NZDMO debt tender, where all the central bank sponsored capital gains are being made without attendance to the needs of whining tenants.

Each bid to buy Government Securities from NZDMO (“bid”) or offer to sell Government Securities to NZDMO (“offer”) must be of a minimum amount of $1,000,000 (face value) and in multiples of $1,000,000 thereafter. Read more

by Randomman | 5th Jul 16, 11:39am 1467675541

B.D got cake and having it too??

by rp | 5th Jul 16, 11:24am 1467674659

The mightier the fall when this housing bubble bursts, the bigger the political impact on National...who've inflated it

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 11:37am 1467675461

You and your mates have been saying this for years haha.

Auckland is not like other markets -- the demand side is very high and supply side very low. Totally different to say Ireland where they were building houses but there was noone to live in them.

by sharetrader | 5th Jul 16, 11:45am 1467675952

soon might be if the cost keeps going up, but that could be the master plan get companies to leave auckland due to cost and low productivity and move to NZ heartland
Employers say decreased productivity, increased sickness and difficulties finding staff are the results of Auckland's housing crisis, according to a survey by recruitment agency Frog Recruitment.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/employers-workers-quitting-auckland-ove…

by rp | 5th Jul 16, 11:50am 1467676238

I don't think there is a masterplan sharetrader...just stay in power on the back of rising property prices...National is slowing digging it's own grave

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 2:10pm 1467684645

The people leaving auckland are not in the most productive jobs so they should leave. They are being displaced by richer and more skilled individuals so I don't see a problem here.

by Animal Lover | 5th Jul 16, 4:43pm 1467693789

More skilled people like nurses and teachers will leave to be replaced by higher earning money traders and real estate agents? I'll match your nasty generalisation and raise you - the best will leave. Hope your dumbed down kiddies can read the instructions on the machine that goes "bing" (or is that bling?). Got a gun for when the police don't come?

Straight up, my Masters qualified 25 year old nursing daughter now loathes Auckland because of housing costs and travel, and will be moving back to Wellington, where her and her partner can build a house for less than $250k on my back section (her partner is a builder from Auckland, and he loves the chance of buying and building here). Easy. She also misses the culture down here.

His elderly mother will just have to rely on help with her care from ... nurses from the third world who just don't care.

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 6:09pm 1467698957

I'm sorry but this is the way the world works. If you want to blame anyone look to John Key who is encouraging the immigration behind sky high prices. The government is trying to make auckland a place for the wealthy -- they even tried paying homeless people to move to the regions.

As far as you daughter is concerned -- nursing is being taken over by foreign labour. It is not the same profession as it used to be -- the government has seen to this... although the NZNO certainly has some blame.

by Animal Lover | 5th Jul 16, 9:07pm 1467709650

"The way the world works" is a cop out - or you will serve any master. Get back to some basics in your life,something you touch and strive for, something that employs people, something that inspires not depresses the customer. I am a highly paid professional that fully admires my low paid daughter for who she is. I don't like you.

by moa man | 5th Jul 16, 9:19pm 1467710369

Customers pay. That's why they are called customers and not suppliers. A highly paid professional would know that. Surely?

by Animal Lover | 6th Jul 16, 10:04am 1467756244

You're so right - all those voluntary customers with no barriers to buying or leaving such as bond, moving, dealing with prejudice landlords and frankly dodgy management companies, often a substandard product - what freaking planet are you from?

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 10:11pm 1467713491

You boast that you are so highly paid so why don't you help your daughter out? I don't like you either.

by Animal Lover | 6th Jul 16, 10:01am 1467756082

You missed the bit where I've offered her land at the back of my house to build? Reading 101; comprehension 101.

by rp | 5th Jul 16, 10:44pm 1467715485

here, here animal lover

by Independent_Observer | 5th Jul 16, 12:18pm 1467677903

Haha have you read your own writing there?! Demand side is very high and supply side very low. That's exactly what they thought in Dublin when the euphoria was in that market as well!!

by muntijaqi | 5th Jul 16, 11:42am 1467675778

I just bought a 1 bedroom studio apartment in one of the biggest cities of a EU country for NZD $35,000
Double glass new aluminum windows, no council fee (zero), wooden floors, Russian stove (very efficient as a heating system and extremely cheap to run with wood), fully insulated, new electricity and pipes..
Rented out, not to have it empty, is getting me 8% yield.

I am saying this because I have often heard that "it's necessary to get into a mortgage to have a roof over my head or not to have to pay rent when I retire".

Well, I think I can now say NZ's market is insane, a speculators' market, and there is no justification to buy at these prices. Buyers deserve whatever comes to them when the bubble bursts.

And to the fellow renters in NZ like myself: don't worry, don't do anything crazy. You can live well renting, without debt, and in the improbable situation that bubble hasn't burst yet by the time you retire and you cannot afford to pay rent with your savings.. just move somewhere else. The world is beautiful and there are affordable countries with affordable quality houses where healthcare has better quality than in NZ and where you can perfectly integrate only speaking English.

Some people have lost their minds. Put things in perspective!

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 11:39am 1467675561

Certainly not speculation ... prices underpinned by foreigners (many of whom have more than 10 million to spare), and huge demand. With immigration continuing unabated and interest rates looking to fall , prices will hit 2 million by 2020 (predicted in todays NZ Herald).

by muntijaqi | 5th Jul 16, 11:41am 1467675702

2 million? heheh, one day we all will laugh about those predictions.
How many years mortgage would that be at the current pace of salary growth?

by sharetrader | 5th Jul 16, 11:48am 1467676080

yes but you will need overseas purchases to Buy as the amount of Kiwis with that sort of money will diminsh

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 2:12pm 1467684740

We may end up laughing that predictions were way short.

Salaries have nothing to do with Auckland house prices. It is the age of the capitalist, not the wage slave.

by mfd | 5th Jul 16, 12:32pm 1467678775

I'm extremely wary of anyone making predictions by extrapolation, assuming that today's sweet-spot situation will continue indefinitely without economic or political upheaval.

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 2:05pm 1467684329

Of course, but you look at the price pressure points and they are only increasing. Immigration is rising, fewer houses being built . Auckland land supply is still very much constrained and the required infrastructure investment to facilitate expansion does not even seem to be in planning . So, medium term (10 years ) i see prices continuing to rise. Beyond then, who knows

by mfd | 5th Jul 16, 2:30pm 1467685858

My point is immigration is high right now, but who knows what it will be like in two years, let alone ten. Land supply is constrained, but who knows what it will be like after the unitary plan next month, let alone ten years. Money is cheap and this government is starting to make noises on infrastructure, let alone whatever government is in power at the end of next year.

Above all, the more house prices rise the greater the force acting against everything driving prices up. Immigration to Auckland will be discouraged, opening up land becomes more profitable and needed. Political desire for change grows as the balance tips between those profiting and those seeing their opportunities close off. How about a bit of nuance in these predictions? If I wanted to buy in Auckland I'd be hoping for the best but planning for the worst, not assuming everything will continue as it is. The only certainty is change.

by surfisup | 5th Jul 16, 6:06pm 1467698796

I can agree with you to some extent --- but , you could still be wrong with the future direction of prices.

In my view, the most likely event that would possibly impact Auckland house prices is a global credit crunch. And, that is certainly a possiblity with the failure of QE.

by mfd | 5th Jul 16, 6:14pm 1467699274

I'm the first to admit I have no idea where house prices will be in a year or two's time. No-one knows. Hence I have a problem with people presenting rises as locked-in already, or extrapolating from past rises into the future. By most measures Auckland prices are high at the moment, and it would be a braver person than me to borrow money to invest there at this stage unless it's as a small part of a diverse portfolio (i.e. shares, bonds, overseas exposure)

by bob | 5th Jul 16, 12:22pm 1467678136

Wow that's cheap - Bulgaria?

by muntijaqi | 5th Jul 16, 1:04pm 1467680653

Estonia.
By the way, the previous owner had a mortgage of NZD $120,000 in 2006 on the apartment. They also had a property bubble and they also thought those prices were the new paradigm.

by Zachary Smith | 5th Jul 16, 1:39pm 1467682772

You're getting $54 a week in rent. Young men of NZ this is a great opportunity. Just Google Estonian girls and you will need no further encouragement. I am being serious. Can it be done because it looks amazing?

It is this sort of thinking I was alluding to when I wrote that people need to find a workaround. It certainly looks like a better prospect than Eastern Siberia.
Independent_Observer, BadRobot et al go for it. Oh to be young again.

Heaven on Earth

by muntijaqi | 5th Jul 16, 1:58pm 1467683892

If there's something great about Estoina apart from their stunning women is that there are not many men.
115 women per 100 men, one of the highest ratios in Europe.

So.. let's not encourage more men into the country. Things are just fine with affordable quality apartments and plenty of single women.

by Yvil | 5th Jul 16, 9:00pm 1467709212

Haha Estonia, Hey you can buy a really cheap house on the West Coast of the South Island, BECAUSE NO-ONE WANTS TO LIVE THERE, Auckland prices go up because lots of people want to live in Auckland. Nobody is putting a gun to peoples head and saying "you must live in Auckland or die"

by Machiavelli | 5th Jul 16, 11:50am 1467676251

It's not surprising. If you want an idea of where it's headed talk to some large developers doing big sub-divisions. They'll confirm there is no end in sight to the demand. Not to mention ever-increasing construction costs.

by frazz | 5th Jul 16, 12:47pm 1467679637

Not a speck of light is showing/So the danger must be growing... Are the fires of Hell a-glowing?/Is the grisly Reaper mowing?/Yes! The danger must be growing/'Cause the rowers keep on rowing/
[practically screaming]
And they're certainly not showing/Any sign that they are slowing!
[lets out a high-pitched, almost unearthly scream] - Willy Wonka

by evita | 5th Jul 16, 1:26pm 1467681994

Congratulation PM for achieving your goal of ruining kiwi dream of home and runing non resident dream of houses in NZ.

by evita | 5th Jul 16, 1:26pm 1467681996

Congratulation PM for achieving your goal of ruining kiwi dream of home and runing non resident dream of houses in NZ.

by bigblue | 5th Jul 16, 6:46pm 1467701192

Bet ya more than 60% of Barfoots buyers last month were Chinese - Twyford needs to get hold of another list of names eh!

by zorro15 | 5th Jul 16, 7:10pm 1467702645

Had a good look at these figures, I know they are only averages and only a months worth but spotted an interesting correlation with Secondary School decile ratings. Biggest increases Central Suburbs, North Shore, Pakuranga/Howick,(high decile schools). South Auckland, West Auckland, barley moved (low to mid deciles), Franklin, Rodney, Eastern Suburbs, negative (low to mid deciles). Perhaps the student visa category are thinking about the Secondary School they want to send their kids to

by Yvil | 5th Jul 16, 8:46pm 1467708401

Another headline could've been:

"AUCKLAND PROPERTY PRICE APPRECIATION SLOWS TO UNDER 10% PA"

by Yvil | 5th Jul 16, 8:49pm 1467708550

Or:

"MEDIAN AUCKLAND PROPERTY PRICE INCREASE, SLOWS TO 6.1% pa"

by Independent_Observer | 5th Jul 16, 8:59pm 1467709181

Or:

'AUCKLAND HOUSE PRICE APPRECIATION BEATS THE JUNO SPACECRAFT INTO JUPITER ORBIT'