Total sales for January at 504, were down 4.1 per cent on December’s number for Barfoot & Thompson, the city’s largest residential real estate agency.

The median price for the month at $966,500 was down 7.1 per cent on December’s median price and the average price at $1,083,487, was down 8.3 per cent.

Barfoot & Thompson’s managing director, Peter Thompson, says sales and prices falling below those in December is in line with what has occurred over the past four years.

“It’s a feature of the holiday season, especially when the Auckland region has outstanding weather over the holiday period.”

$2 million bracket

Sales numbers are normally their lowest for any month of the year in January and it is also the month when only a small number of homes sell in the $2 million-plus bracket.

This year was no exception, with only 25 homes selling at the top end of the market, representing only five per cent of properties sold – the lowest number sold for four years in the $2 million-plus market during a January month.

“On the positive side, new listings for the month at 1,221 were up 83.3 per cent on those for December and 32.7 per cent ahead of those at the same time last year.

“Vendors are confident that the market has found its feet and are strongly re-entering the market,” Thompson says.

“At the same time, anecdotal comments from agents suggest there is a solid group of buyers sitting on the sidelines waiting for the government to implement its announced modifications to property investment rules,” he says.