Sales soar 25% in January

In their January 2012 market update REINZ reported 4,073 unconditional sales for the month - 821 more than the year earlier.

The national median house price was steady at $355,000 in January and is up 4.4%, or $15,000, on January 2011.

"The real estate market in January has continued on from the strong result in December, with a more than 25% lift in sales across the country compared to January last year and the highest number of transactions in a January month since 2008," said REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan.

"A shortage of listings is still apparent in many areas with agents in a number of regions, including Auckland, reporting shortages of properties available to market and increasing levels of buyer frustration."