Auckland’s housing lift in November is flowing into Hibiscus Coast suburbs as top-end buyers return to the market.

“There was a marked increase in prices during November with buyers returning in strength to the top end of the market,” said Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson.

The median Auckland price reached $995,000, up 4.7 percent on October, while the average climbed 9.5 percent to $1,181,829.

Thompson says these are the largest monthly increases this year and they end a four-month patch where prices showed little movement.

He says this year’s November rise “was based on a change in sentiment as to future market direction” and that improved prices “led to a subtle shift from it being a total buyers’ market, with buyers sensing that now might be the time to act.”

Sales hit 969 for the month, 4.2 percent higher than October and 2 percent above the previous three-month average.

A key feature was the return of buyers spending $2 to $3 million, with 71 sales in that band, more than double the previous month, plus 21 sales over $3 million.

On the Hibiscus Coast, three-bedroom averages now sit close to Auckland’s median.

Orewa comes in at $999,158, Red Beach at $1,040,727 and Silverdale at $976,250, with Millwater at $1,205,933 and Manly at $1,194,375.

Weekly rents for three-bedroom homes run from the mid-$600s to mid-$700s, including $694 in Orewa and $760 in Milldale.

Gross yields mostly sit between 3 and 4 percent, from 3.05 percent in Manly up to 4.35 percent in Gulf Harbour and 4.18 percent in Wellsford.

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