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Source: ONE News -
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Real estate agent Barfoot & Thompson says the fall in Auckland property prices last year was not as dire as commentators predicted.
The largest real estate agent in Auckland is also saying that activity in the Auckland property market picked up just before the Christmas holiday break after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand slashed official interest rates late last year.
Barfoot & Thompson's sales figures show property prices in Auckland declined 4.7% last year. The agent's average sale price for the 12 months to December 2008 was $513,597, compared to $538,478 for 2007.
Barfoot & Thompson closed off the month on December 19 with 227 sales recorded for that week, compared to an average of 171 per week throughout the year. The average sale price for the month of December was $509,513, up 1.7% from November.
"We've certainly seen an improvement in the market since the Reserve Bank's most recent move. It seems to have tipped the balance in terms of converting interested parties into committed buyers," says managing director Peter Thompson.
He says the 4.7% decline in the 12-month average was a good result given the dire predictions that had been made.
