Mortgagee sales have dropped to the lowest levels in four years.
Figures released by property information company Terralink International on Friday show mortgagee sales in the three months to December 2012 were down 11% on the previous quarter.
From October to December last year, 461 properties were sold in mortgagee sales.
The total number of forced sales last year was 2106, the lowest since 2008 and 30% less than the 3024 recorded in 2009 at the height of the recession.
Terralink managing director Mike Donald says while it is encouraging to see mortgagee sales drop, the current level is still four to five times higher than pre-recession levels.
He says Auckland mortgagee sales have decreased by 26%, while in other parts of the country including Taranaki, Waikato and Canterbury the rate of mortgagee sales has increased.
