Winter housing market slowdown becomes widespread as prices keep falling

Author: Herald Reporters,
Publish Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2026, 11:23am

A winter chill settled over New Zealand’s housing market in the July quarter as average home values fell by 1.5%, according to the QV House Price Index.

The average Kiwi home is now worth $898,799, down 1.3% since the start of the year and 1.2% less than the same time last year.

QV national spokesman Simon Petersen said the market remained patchy but the winter slowdown had become more widespread as buyers grew increasingly cautious.

“Winter has put a further chill through the market, while the prospect of higher borrowing costs and ongoing economic uncertainty have given buyers even less reason to rush,” he said.

Petersen said winter conditions were combining with wider political and economic uncertainty to keep the market subdued.

“This isn’t another sudden correction. It’s an already subdued market losing what little momentum it had built earlier in the year.”

Across the largest cities, residential property values in Auckland declined 2.2% to $1.17 million in the three months to July.

In Wellington, home values fell 3.2% to $883,783.

Christchurch largely resisted the broader national trend, rising 0.3% over the quarter to $802,872.

Tauranga was the country’s strongest performer for the quarter as residential property values rose 0.7% to $1.05m.

“Tauranga has been one of the North Island’s most consistent performers this year, proving that buyers are still willing to compete where the fundamentals stack up. That’s also what we’re continuing to see across much of Canterbury and Southland,” Petersen said.

“These markets are benefiting from their own mix of affordability, employment and supply-and-demand conditions.

“It’s another reminder that there is no one-speed housing market in New Zealand right now, and conditions are not playing out evenly everywhere.”

Meanwhile, markets in Gisborne and Greymouth fell sharply, down 6.4% and 5% respectively.

“Markets such as Gisborne and Greymouth can fluctuate more sharply because fewer sales have a greater influence on the index. The longer-term trend is often more meaningful than any single quarterly result,” Petersen said.

Petersen said there was still activity in the market, particularly from first-home buyers.

“Well-presented, realistically priced homes are still selling. But we’re seeing very little urgency now,” he said.

“With the general election looming late this year, many prospective buyers appear content to sit on the sidelines and wait for greater certainty.

“Until that happens, we expect buyers to remain cautious and the market to continue moving at different speeds across the country.”