Auckland house prices fall again

Auckland house prices fell in July, according to new figures.

The average sale price declined 5.3 percent from $525,316 in June to $497,479 in July, according to real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson.

However the number of sales increased 13.1 percent from 556 to 629 over the same period.

Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson believes the company's July activity report shows that vendors who need to sell are gradually adjusting to the market and lowering their expectations.

Mr Thompson says while prices clearly eased during the month, the average was skewed slightly by a package of 87 apartments going unconditional during that time and reducing the overall average.

Mr Thompson said a lot of rental stock was available, indicating some vendors might be choosing to let their properties rather than sell.

His company's property management division reported that the average weekly rental dropped from $391 in June to $384 in July.

People choosing to let needed to understand they may not be able to get as much rent as they had anticipated, Mr Thompson said.

- with NZPA