Property Prices Cool Across The Motu

Property prices have fallen for the second time this year, according to Trade Me’s Property Pulse Report.

The average asking price for a property in April was $855,150, down 0.8 per cent on March and 2.6 per cent year-on-year.

Trade Me Property Customer Director, Gavin Lloyd says house prices dipping at this stage of the year is somewhat typical and can largely be attributed to seasonal fluctuations.

“Historically, as we move into the colder months of the year we see a dip in buyer activity, and this is reflected in the most recent data. House hunting is a lot more appealing when the sun is shining and properties look and feel their best,” says Mr Lloyd.

The number of days properties spent onsite also increased from an average of 56 days in March to 62 days in April, but remains well down on the average 85 days in January.

“The rule of thumb is that the longer properties spend on the market, the more sellers need to adjust their expectations, particularly when it comes to price. This is especially true in a market where there’s plenty of supply to choose from,” says Mr Lloyd.

Auckland records largest decline this year

Tāmaki Makaurau property prices fell -1.0 per cent on March and represent the biggest month-on-month decline in eight months. Year-on-year prices in the country’s largest city are down -3.2 per cent.

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“Property prices in Auckland have been consistently inconsistent in recent months. In March we saw the average asking price reach a 10-month high, and for April prices recorded the largest fall since August 2024.

“After dipping below the million dollar average last August, many will be keeping a watchful eye on the city of sails as to how things play out as we move closer to winter.”

Drop in supply, and demand

The number of listings on Trade Me Property, which hit a decade high in March, fell four per cent between March and April. Demand was also down 13 per cent month-on-month.

“Of the 15 regions we monitor at Trade Me Property, each one recorded a decline in supply from the month prior with the biggest drops recorded on the West Coast (-7%), Nelson/Tasman (-7%), Canterbury, Gisborne and Taranaki all down six per cent respectively.”

Lloyd says while the number of listings on Trade Me Property fell between March and April there remains plenty of choice for house-hunters.

“To give some perspective, we had several thousand more properties listed onsite in April of this year compared to April 2024. That means buyers continue to have plenty of leverage and to secure a sale, vendors are going to need to meet the market, particularly in regards to realistic price expectations.”

About the Trade Me Property Pulse Report:

The Trade Me Property Pulse Report measures trends in the expectations of selling prices for residential property listings added to Trade Me Property by real estate agents and private sellers over the past three months.

It provides buyers, sellers and realtors with insights into ‘for sale’ price trends by property type and property size.

The report is produced from data on properties listed on Trade Me Property in the three months leading up to the last day of each period. Each period’s value is a truncated mean of the complete three months’ worth of listings. This is to better reflect trends in property prices rather than month-to-month fluctuations in housing stock.

The report uses an “80 per cent truncated mean” of the expected sale price to calculate the average asking price. This excludes the upper and lower 10 per cent of listings by price, and averages the expected sale prices of the remaining properties.

It provides an insight into ‘for sale’ price trends by type and size of property. Other reports aggregate property price data across these various properties. 

Some of the numbers in this release have been rounded

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