House sales drop a fifth as market goes on holiday

House sales drop a fifth as market goes on holiday
(Image: NZME)
Staff reporters
The real estate market moved into holiday mode in December, with a 20.8% drop in the sales count on the prior month from 6,493 to 5,145 units.The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) numbers for the month also marked a slowdown in annual price inflation, with the institute's index down 1.1% month-on-month but up 0.5% from last December.That saw the national median house price dip to $779,830, down 1.9% nationally from November, while new listings declined by 6.4% from 5,157 to 4,828 year-on-year. The number of properties a...