The average sale price for an Auckland home has blown out to a new high of more than three quarters of a million dollars.

The latest figures from Barfoot & Thompson, Auckland's largest realtor, show sale prices reached an average of $776,729 in March.

Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said buyers were not being put off by the high prices.

While March was always the busiest month, he said the level of trading was unprecedented and had set a string of new records.

The agency sold 1597 homes, the highest number ever in a calendar month, a quarter of which had a price tag of over $1 million.

"Buyers remain convinced that with a stable economy, low interest rates and restricted housing availability, that buying at current prices is manageable," Thompson said.

The firm sold 300 homes for less than $500,000, which represented just one in five properties.
March's average price was 7 per cent higher than it was 12 months previously, while the median price was up 9 per cent.

It was also a strong month for new listings, with 1997 new properties placed on the market.

"While sales activity in April is unlikely to match that for March, given the relatively good level of choice available trading can be expected to remain extremely active," Thompson said.

Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said the market could only be described as "tight", despite an improvement in the quantity of houses available.

"Today's data confirms that the Auckland housing market is very strong, although not quite as rampant as it appeared late last year," he said.

Stephens said Westpac was sticking with its forecast for 7.5 per cent house price growth this year, with Auckland expected to outperform the national average.