More from B and T this month:
The latest housing data out of Auckland shows a strong comeback in June, suggesting a pick up in residential construction is just around the corner according to an economist.
Sales and price data released by Barfoot & Thompson today showed 861 houses were sold by the company, which makes about a third of Auckland residential property sales, in June. This was an increase of 5.8 percent over May and a 54.9 percent increase on sales in June last year.
June is typically one of the slowest months for real estate, but recent months have bucked traditional trends.
GoldmanSachs JBWere strategist Bernard Doyle said the bounce in Auckland house sales bodes well for nationwide activity and suggested a better future for construction.
"It supports our view that weaker sales volumes in May were likely reflective of month to month volatility than anything fundamental," he said.
"That said, the near vertical trajectory in house sales activity must begin to level off soon. Either way, for the construction sector, today's data reinforces our view that residential construction activity is due for an imminent pick-up from multi-decade lows," he added.
Barfoot managing director Peter Thompson said the Auckland housing market had made a remarkable recovery from the challenges of the past 18 months.
"It's hard to dismiss the robust sales of recent months as a temporary reprieve in the ongoing decline of housing values," said Thompson.
"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."
Thompson said the biggest challenge facing the company was obtaining new listings, saying at the end of June its total listings had fallen to 5557, the lowest level for the past 20 months.