Property prices broadly steady

Few massive increases or decreases seen in the real estate market, reports David Porter.

Swapping contracts. Photo: RDNE Stock project, pexels.com

Data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows a modest year-on-year dip in the national median price, although most regions saw median prices lifting year-on-year, and values remain broadly steady as listing numbers increase.

Simon Martin

As noted by Harcourts Advantage Realty managing director Simon Martin, values generally have been sitting pretty steadily nationally over the past 18 months. Martin told The News that Tauranga market values had been sitting about 20 per cent up on the industry.

Generally sales they had experienced had been positive in Tauranga.

“That’s a positive” he told The News. But he noted that was the trend specifically observed in Tauranga.

“A lot of [real estate] commentary is on the values of property and yes they have sat pretty static,” he says.

“There haven’t been any massive increases and there haven’t been any massive decreases since the post-Covid palaver,” he says.

“I think part of that has been countered by the interest rates drops. As soon as interest rates started dropping, the value plateaued.”

According to the REINZ report, 13 out of the 16 regions reported an increase in median prices compared to August 2024, with Auckland’s median price increasing by 1.3% year-on-year, to $964,000. The most significant year-on-year increases were recorded in Gisborne, up 11.3% from $620,000 to $690,000, Southland, up 8.9% from $427,000 to $465,000, and in the West Coast, up 7.8% from $357,000 to $385,000.

“Across New Zealand, confidence in the property market is tempered with caution,” says REINZ Chief Executive Lizzy Ryley.

“While many expected the recent OCR [Official Cash Rate] change to encourage more activity, the history of REINZ data suggests that we may be cautiously optimistic that we will see an increase in activity in the market in the coming months. At this stage, both buyers and sellers appear to be taking a measured approach as they watch how the market unfolds, particularly as we near Spring.”

According to the recent ANZ property report, regionally Auckland led price declines, while the housing markets in the South Island had been more resilient, in line with their stronger job markets.

The ANZ report says that given soft near-term price momentum, it had trimmed its 2025 house price inflation forecast from 2.5% to around zero.

But it notes that the Reserve Bank’s recently signalled willingness to cut at its August Monetary Policy Statement meant that the bank now expected the OCR to reach 2.5% by the end of the year.

According to the report, this would support a gradual recovery in the housing market and the wider economy.

“We continue to expect 5% house price growth in 2025,” the report says.

“We also expect house price growth will be tempered by expectations that interest rates will eventually lift back up from low levels.”