ZN - New Zealand home sales jumped in November and the median price rose to a record, suggesting Auckland's strengthening market is becoming a nationwide trend.
The number of sales rose 17 per cent to 6,008 last month compared to November last year and was up 20 per cent from October, according to the Real Estate Institute. The gain in the latest month was 4.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The national median house price rose 2.4 per cent, or $8,500, to $367,500 in November from October, exceeding the previous record of $365,000 reached in March this year.
All regions recorded an increase in sales from October, REINZ said.
The Reserve Bank this week kept the official cash rate at a record low 2.5 per cent and indicated tepid inflation and overseas financial market turbulence meant it was in no rush to hike rates, which should help keep a lid on floating rate mortgages.
The REINZ data comes a day after government valuer Quotable Value reported a 1.7 per cent gain in property values in November from a year earlier, 4 per cent below their peak of 2007.
QV said Auckland values were 3.4 per cent higher than the same time a year ago and are now 0.6 per cent above the city's previous peak.
QV research director Jono Ingerson said a host of new listings were on the market after the Rugby World Cup and the election and tipped it would remain active in the summer months.
REINZ data showed the volume of sales is well below 2007 levels, when 92,000 properties were sold compared to about 56,000 so far in 2011.
"While the data coming through from the housing market is generally positive, the volume figures say recovery, not boom as some commentators have suggested," said REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan.
The REINZ stratified median housing price index, which strips out monthly variations in the proportion of high or lower-value properties sold, rose 1.1 per cent in November.
NZN