Trade Me Property says the Auckland housing market has shown its first sign of easing in 18 months.

The average asking price of Auckland residential properties listed on the website in the three months to July was $756,700, down $16,650 (2.2%) compared to the average asking price of $773,350 in the three months to June.

“While a single month doesn’t confirm a trend, the asking price is a lead indicator of the market based on thousands of listings added to Trade Me Property by real estate agents and private sellers each month,” the head of Trade Me Property, Nigel Jeffries said.

“This blip could mean a change in direction for the market or may just be a temporary stall,” he said.

“Historically we see a dampening in expected sales in winter, as sellers wait for warmer months to list their properties on the market.

“We’ll be watching the coming months with interest.”

However although the overall fall in average asking prices affected most types of properties, it did not affect asking prices for 3-4 bedroom houses, which is the largest single category of homes advertised on Trade Me Property, accounting for more than 40% of all listings.

The average asking price of 3-4 bedroom houses was up 1.1% in July compared to June.

The biggest fall in asking prices was for smaller 1-2 bedroom houses, which were down 4.5% in July compared with June.

Auckland apartment asking prices also took a dip, dropping 3.2% in July compared to June.

However the average asking price of Auckland properties was still up 18% compared with July last year.

Outside of Auckland asking prices are continuing to rise, with average price for all parts of the country excluding Auckland hitting $414,800 in the three months to July, up 2.5%  compared to the three months to June and up 5.5% for the year.

After Auckland, the biggest annual increase in asking prices was in the Bay of Plenty where they were up 12% for the year, followed by Southland $11.6%, Canterbury 10.7%, Manawatu/Wanganui 9.8%, Taranaki 9.7%, Hawkes Bay 8.6%, West Coast 8.1%, Northland 6.8% and Otago 2%.

Four regions recorded declines in average asking prices in the three months to July compared to a year earlier; Nelson/Tasman -4%, Gisborne -3.2%, Marlborough -0.4% and Wellington -0.2%.  

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