A reported pick-up in the Auckland residential property market has been confirmed in the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute.
The Auckland region's median price of $240,000 was the highest February total for four years, while sales volume was up to 2,006 last month from 1,592 in January. Nation-wide, the median house price was $171,000 in February compared with $169,250 in January and $170,000 in February 1999.
Estate agents spoken to by Good Returnshad reported an improvement in the Auckland market in recent weeks, but said some Wellington properties were tending to "sit". Wellington's median price dropped $1,000 in February from the previous month to $184,000, but is still substantially higher than last February's median of $175,000.
Institute president Max Oliver said there were some "very healthy figures" away from the main urban centres. The Hawkes Bay region, for example, achieved its second highest sales volume for any February in the last ten years.
Total dwellings: median prices
| Region | February 1999 | January 2000 | February 2000 | | --------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | | Northland | $135,000 | $171,250 | $131,000 | | Auckland | $235,000 | $230,000 | $240,000 | | Waikato/BOP/Gisborne | $153,000 | $159,500 | $156,000 | | Hawkes Bay | $135,000 | $125,000 | $127,000 | | Manawatu/Wanganui | $105,400 | $99,250 | $112,000 | | Taranaki | $106,000 | $93,000 | $112,500 | | Wellington | $175,000 | $185,000 | $184,000 | | Nelson/Marlborough | $136,000 | $140,000 | $145,750 | | Canterbury/Westland | $147,500 | $147,000 | $141,250 | | Otago | $93,000 | $95,000 | $96,000 | | Southland | $82,500 | $72,000 | $82,750 | | New Zealand total | $170,000 | $169,250 | $171,000 |
...Figures supplied by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand
