WELLINGTON: New Zealand house prices hit a record high in November on strong demand, which was still outstripping supply in the country's major cities, the Real Estate Institute of NZ (REINZ) said on Tuesday.
The REINZ's house price index rose 1.4 percent from October, when they rose 1.5 percent, and was up 7.3 percent from the same month last year.
The median house price in Auckland, New Zealand's main business and population centre, rose 1.9 percent from October to a record price of NZ$540,000 as demand continued to exceed rising supply.
Compared to a year ago, Auckland prices jumped 10.2 percent.
"The activity in the Auckland market is now starting to see some spill over into other parts of the country, with increased buyer activity, although there are some remaining markets which are yet to see this effect," said REINZ Chief Executive Helen O'Sullivan in a statement.
"The lift in national sales volume to a five year high and the new record medians in Auckland and Otago is indicative of the real estate market gaining in confidence."
The housing market has picked up, particularly in major cities, after being sluggish for much of 2011, as mortgage rates remained low and the economy improved, albeit at a slow pace.
The national median house sale price, which is different from the index, rose to record NZ$383,250 ($314,000) from NZ$380,000 in the previous month.
The number of houses sold by REINZ members rose 12.3 percent to 7,454 in November from October, and were up 24.1 percent on a year earlier.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, November's sales were 1.2 percent lower than October but 19.3 percent higher than November last year.
REINZ said it took 32 days to sell a house last month against 33 days in October. Over the past 10 years, the national median days to sell has averaged 33 days.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand last week said it was seeing signs of pockets of inflation pressure in the housing market, which it was keeping an eye on.
The central bank held its cash rate steady at 2.5 percent for the 14th consecutive review and has signalled that it expects to stay on hold through next year.
Center>Copyright Reuters, 2012
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