Last month the national sale price for properties in New Zealand jumped an astonishing $10,000. This is due, economists believe, to the gradual recovery in the country’s economy.

Key figures from the Real Estate Institute this month show that the national median house price has risen from £350,000 to $360,000, listings were strong and some estate agents were even complaining that there was a shortage of homes to buy. It is believed that prices in Auckland have even topped their previous peak which was in 2007.

Auckland had price rises in several different areas and also saw higher volumes of sales as well as a greater demand. Not everywhere benefited from growth however, as although Auckland, Otago and Wellington significantly improved, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay and Southened failed to see an increase in sales or demand. In Canterbury, sales fell by 20% between May and June, however despite this; it was still up on the month of April.

Nick Tuffley from ASB believes that the overall picture is of slow yet steady growth in demand. He said “House prices are starting to register increases in Auckland, up 4.9 per cent year-on-year.”

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