New Zealand's total residential dwelling sales recovered in February from their lowest level in nearly two decades, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand said Friday.
In February, the nationwide median price remained steady at NZ$350,000 compared to January, but rose 6% over a year earlier. The February total of 5029 dwellings sold is also well up on the January figure of 3,666, but down from 5,228 sales in February 2009. The total value of residential sales stood at NZ$2.14 billion in February, a significant increase on the January total of NZ$1.53 billion.
Regionally, the national median price recorded the largest gain in Taranaki, with 9.61% to NZ$285,900, followed by Auckland with 7.59% to NZ$453,500.
"Agents report an air of caution amongst buyers, most of whom are genuine home seekers as opposed to investors, and this is reflected in the increase to 46 in the median days taken to sell a listed dwelling," said REINZ President Peter McDonald. He said recent government discussions of potential tax changes have halted the number of inquiries from investors, who usually buy at the lower end of the price range.
Most interest at present is in the NZ$400,000 to NZ$600,000 bracket and no change in interest rates is keeping the genuine home buyers in the market, McDonald added. "We are seeing a good supply of listings and high levels of inquiry so we expect the market to remain reasonably balanced and maybe strengthen as we move into the autumn months."
REINZ also said its house price index increased 0.4% month-on-month in February, taking the annual growth to 5.5%. In the three-months to February, house prices fell 1.2%. The institute noted that housing prices are 4.9% below their November 2007 peak.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.