Mid-priced homes with CVs between $800,000-and-$1m, meanwhile, have been holding their value and typically selling for prices close to their council value.
But the best performing properties have been those with CVs below $650,000, which are still selling for prices as high as 9 per cent above their CV.
This showed that the more expensive the property, the more likely it was to sell at a lower price compared to its CV, CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall said.
The data also appeared to show that while owners were having a harder time selling expensive properties, buyers were getting more chances to snap up bargains.
At a recent Barfoot & Thompson's weekday auction, the Herald watched a home at 1 Orakau Ave in Epsom sell for $1,050,000 or $375,000 less than its CV.
CHECK OUT THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME ON ONEROOF.CO.NZ
oneroof.co.nz
The three bedroom brick-and-tile house came with a double garage and was "right in the heart of Epsom's Double Grammar Zone".
Another three-bedroom home at 9 Hoani Glade in St Johns - which sits next to the Remuera golf course on a 620sq m block - sold for $1.35m or $250,000 less than its CV.
Of 14 homes the Herald saw auctioned, three sold for prices under their CV, while another six were passed in because the bids did not rise as high as the CV.
However, another five properties - three with council values higher than $1m and two with values below $650,000 - sold for prices higher than their CV.
This included a Freemans Bay apartment in the Hopetoun Residence complex, which sold for $1.715m or about $300,000 above its CV.
The price was driven up by tough competition between three bidders.
Jill Findley was one of the unsuccessful bidders and thought the apartment was worth the price.
She lives in the complex next door and had been bidding on behalf of a friend's family member living in the US, who wanted to move back to New Zealand and into the Hopetoun Residence apartment with its spectacular harbour views.
They ended up bidding $65,000 higher than their pre-auction limit, but still missed out on the apartment.
Findley said homes had to make their buyers fall in love with them in the current market if they were to sell for prices above CV.
"There was nothing [in the early part of the auction] that was worth falling in love with except that [Freemans Bay] apartment," she said.
Another home at 2 Greenfield Rd in Epsom also sold almost $100,000 above its CV when it went for $1.425m.
A young first-home buying couple, who did not wish to be named, missed out after pulling out of the bidding war when the price reached the home's CV.
"It was a really nice property – but it surprised us that it was so far over CV, whereas quite a lot of the other ones were selling under," they said.
They said they expected to be able to buy a home under CV in the current market.
However, Real Estate Institute of NZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said buyers "should be cautious" about using CVs as a guide to buying.
She said homes could sell for prices well above CV in one part of Auckland, while simultaneously selling below CV in another part, meaning it was important to also seek expert advice, such as from a licenced real estate agent.
Barfoot & Thompson director Peter Thompson said CVs should be used as one indicator of a home's value, but shouldn't be relied upon as the only indicator.
"[A home's] CV was set at a certain date and that could either be one week ago or, in some cases, it could be up to three years ago," he said.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan also said CVs were a benchmark price at a certain point in time, but that it could quickly get out of date.
Ray White Mission Bay chief executive and auctioneer on television show The Block, Wayne Maguire, said CVs were a "poor indicator" of current prices.
"Probably only [Auckland Mayor] Phil Goff believes those CVs, nobody else does," he said.
But while CVs alone may not give a complete picture of a home's true value, CoreLogic's Goodall said they remained "a crucial property characteristic".
This is because many organisations, including analysts, banks, real estate agents and popular listing websites, such as OneRoof, used CVs as an important part of their algorythms to estimate a home's value.
Foreign buyer ban set to hit on Monday
Overseas citizens are set to be locked out of New Zealand's housing market on Monday when the foreign buyer ban comes into effect after almost a year of debate.
The ban means that - apart from Australians and Singaporeans - foreigners will no longer be able to buy Kiwi homes.
People living in New Zealand on resident visas aren't included in the ban and will still be allowed to buy local homes.
However, those who hold resident visas but aren't living in the country will need to get permission from the Overseas Investment Office to buy locally.
Overseas buyers will also still be allowed to buy as much as 60 per cent of the total units on offer in major apartment complexes with 20 units or more.
The ban aims to give locals a better shot at buying their dream homes by preventing wealthy overseas buyers from outbidding them.
However, critics point out that only 2.8 per cent of Kiwi homes sold to foreigners or people who didn't hold a resident visa in the June quarter, meaning the ban will do little to make homes more affordable.
