Maggie, hope this news will, at least, please you when you sell your place 
.
House prices hit new record high
2:22PM Thursday April 19, 2007
New Zealand house prices hit a new record high last month, ignoring central bank attempts to take some heat out of the market, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
On the back of rising house prices in Auckland, the national median price rose 2.5 per cent in March to $343,500, to be 13.7 per cent above a year ago.
The median price in Auckland rose 3 per cent for the month, to $443,000.
National sales rose 17.4 per cent from February to 10,989 houses sold, while days to sell fell to 27 days from 32 days.
Last month, the Reserve Bank raised its benchmark Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 7.50 per cent, to help put the brakes on inflationary pressures which have been driven in part by surging house prices.
Retail banks, which have kept mortgage rates low because of stiff competition, have finally taken heed. Two-year fixed mortgage rates have risen around 50 basis points since the Reserve Bank's hike, to an average 8.79 per cent.
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