Auckland home sales rise in June as prices dip

The volume of sales in June from May rose 5.8% to 861 properties, Barfoot said in a statement. Sales jumped 55% from the same month of 2008. The average price slipped 2.3% to $521,791.  

"The strength of the Auckland housing market can be added to the list of ‘green shoots' indicating that the economy in general and people's confidence is starting to stabilise," said Peter Thompson, the firm's managing director.

"It's hard to dismiss the robust sales of recent months as a temporary reprieve in the ongoing decline of housing values." 

Government figures this week showed home building approvals rose for a second month in May, driven by a pick-up in consents for apartments, adding to optimism demand may revive in the property market in the face of the central bank's record low benchmark interest rate and a pick-up in net migration. Excluding apartments, though, consents fell 3.1%.