Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson says this was our busiest December in the last 10 years with demand never being higher, or choice lower Auckland's average house sale price rose to a new record in December as sales volumes for the month surged to a 12-year high amid tight supply, according to the city's largest real estate agency. House sales climbed 28.5 percent to 1,050 in December from the year earlier month, their highest level for the typically shorter December trading month since 2002, according to Auckland real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson.