There was good and bad news from the residential property auctions held in January this year.

First let's get the bad news out of the way.

There were fewer properties auctioned in January this year compared to January last year.

Interest.co.nz monitored 199 residential property auctions in January this year, compared to 278 in January last year. That's a reduction of 28%.

The good news is the sales rate was higher this year and prices were just a tiny bit firmer.

Of the 199 properties offered at the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz in January this year, 103 sold under the hammer, giving an overall sales rate of 52%.

Of the 278 properties monitored auctions in January last year, 116 sold under the hammer, giving a sales rate of 42%.

The last time the sales rate nudged above 50% was in July 2023.

Prices might have been marginally firmer, with 43% of the properties that sold in January this year fetching prices above or equal to their rating valuations, compared to 39% in January last year.

January is usually a fairly quiet month for auction activity and this year was no different. However, the relatively high sales rate could be a signal the market is starting the main summer selling season on a slightly firmer note compared to last year.

But it's early days, and we will need to see how things shape up over the next few weeks as the market ramps up for its busiest time of the year, before we can draw firm conclusions.

The individual results for all of the properties offered at the auctions monitored by interest.co.nz, including the selling prices and QV valuations of those that sold, are available on our

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