FULL ARTICLE FROM INTEREST.CO.NZ BELOW:

Last week’s lift in auction activity appears to be sustainable but the sales rate wallows around a third of the properties offered

By Greg Ninness

Finally, the much anticipated, or should that be hoped for, spring lift in residential property sales activity appears to be underway.

It may not have a lot of strength to it yet and it’s a month or two overdue, but there was a definite increase in activity in auction rooms around the country last week.

Interest.co.nz monitored 235 residential property auctions last week (29 October – 4 November), up from 187 the previous week and 186 the week before that.

Looking ahead, the Orders of Sale suggest the higher level of activity is likely to sustained.

However while the number of properties being offered for sale at auction has increased, the sales rate remains low.

At the auctions monitored last week, 72 of the 235 properties offered were sold under the hammer, giving an overall sales rate of 31% (see the table below for the district-by-district results).

That compares with overall sales rates of 33% last week and 34% the week before that.

Auctions are a leading indicator of real estate activity and the latest figures suggest there will be a seasonal increase in activity levels over the next few weeks as we head towards summer, but the market is likely to remain quieter compared to previous years.

Details of the individual properties offered at all of the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz, including the prices achieved for those that sold, are available on our Residential Auction Results page.

Source: Interest.co.nz