13 Oct 2014

House sales continue to ease

3:28 pm on 13 October 2014

House sales have fallen, while price growth has continued to ease.

The Real Estate Institute said sales fell 12 percent to 5911 in September, compared with the same month a year ago. It is the 11th successive month of declines.

The national median price rose 5 percent to $420,000, though it is increasing at a slower pace.

The institute's chief executive, Helen O'Sullivan, said sales of houses worth under $400,000 - a key market for first-home buyers - fell 18 percent annually.

That is lower than the 25 percent decline experienced in the year to August.

The institute said sales have been hit by lending restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank a year ago.

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