Barfoot & Thompson says house hunters in Auckland are snapping up properties as quickly as they come on the market, forcing prices up and reducing the number of houses on its books.
The largest real estate agency in Auckland sold 998 houses in the region in July, an increase of 28% compared with the same period a year ago.
Prices edged up to a record average of $591,444.
The managing director Peter Thompson says sales are good, though it has only 4000 properties on its books, the lowest level since late 2005.
Mr Thompson says the lack of stock is not due to a low number of listings, but because people are snapping up properties as soon as they become available.
