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Suburban houses - Source: ONE News
July's residential property sales were the lowest for that month in ten years according to figures released today by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
However, while the number of sales was at a decade-low, prices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were still up on last year.
Peter Thompson at REINZ said: "We are seeing a similar pattern to last month with sales volumes down but prices remaining stable in contradiction of predictions of a falling market.
"Good sales are still being made and properties priced right are attracting a lot of attention and are selling."
Nationwide sales slipped from 4,575 in June to 4,411 last month. They were still higher than the record low of only 3,666 dwelling sales last January.
The highest ever number of residential property sales in a July month was 10,150 in 2003.
Nationwide prices also fell in July 2010 as measured by the REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index.
The index shows a 1.2% drop in July from June and in the three months to July, the index decreased by 1.1%.
But compared to 12 months earlier, the REINZ Housing Price Index increased by 1.8%.
By region
The trend was strongest in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch where prices remained higher than they were in July 2009.
Christchurch prices were up 7.4%, Auckland up 1.7%, Wellington up 1.1% and other North Island suburbs up 2.2%.
However prices in South Island suburbs other than Christchurch were down 2.7% from July 2009.
The national median number of days to sell stayed at 45 for July which is longer than the 37 days of July 2009 but an improvement on the median of 58 days in July 2008.
Winter is traditionally a slow period for the property market, and Thompson said agents are aware of many home owners preparing their properties for marketing in spring.
The total value of residential sales, including sections, in July declined to $1.83 billion, a further decrease on the June total of $1.96 billion.
Changes in the median price varied from district to district across the country with falls as high as 5% in five regions, and increases of up to 11% in the others when compared with the same month last year.
The largest rise in the median price is in Southland which is up more than 10.5% on the previous year and the largest fall sees the Central Otago Lakes down 4.9%.
