9 Nov 2008

Auckland house sales slump in October

6:00 am on 9 November 2008

An Auckland real-esate agency is reporting its slowest October for at least 10 years in the retail property market.

Barfoot & Thompson says 503 sales were recorded for the month, compared with 796 in October last year.

Managing director Peter Thompson says the global financial turmoil has had a huge impact on the New Zealand property market.

He says a lot of people are holding off on buying a house because of this.

Mr Thompson says the elections in New Zealand and the United States have also caused people uncertainty, and banks are tightening up on credit.

But, he says once these factors become settled, some stability should return to the market.