House prices flat to start 2025 – which regions fared better than others?

New Zealand house prices crept up 0.2% to a national average of $903,928, in the three months ending March. Photo / Fiona Goodall

• The national average property price rose 0.2% to $903,928 in the March quarter.
• Home values are 2.3% lower than the same period last year.
• The average house value in Auckland fell 0.1% to $1.24 million.

House prices across New Zealand remained “virtually motionless” in the first quarter of 2025 but those in our biggest city have fallen slightly, according to the latest QV House Price Index.

Home values crept up just 0.2% to a national average of $903,928, in the three months ending March.

This was down on the 0.5% growth in the February quarter, and remains 2.3% lower than the same period last year.

The average home value in the Auckland region fell 0.1% to $1.24 million, the first negative quarter since October last year.

QV operations manager James Wilson said market conditions remained soft across the country.

“Residential property values continue to bubble up and down slightly from month to month but have been kept virtually motionless as a whole throughout the first quarter of 2025.

“Although interest rates have reduced markedly, buyers are still finding the current economic climate to be a challenge.”

Home values in Tauranga rose 0.4% to $1.02m while the Queenstown Lakes District was down 0.1% to $1.81m.

The Wellington and Waikato regions both fell 0.3% to $838,916 and $787,886 respectively.

Rotorua (3.6%), Whangārei (2.6%), Nelson (1.7%) and Christchurch (1.1%) were the only regions to record average home value growth above 1%.

Wilson said job worries and a rise in unemployment were causing many to be cautious and play it safe right now.

There is also a sizeable surplus of properties for sale, he said.

“It seems sellers are out in force across Aotearoa today. Ample properties for sale and a lack of meaningful competition are helping keep prices really flat for now,” Wilson said.

“That’s no bad thing, as first-home buyers continue to make up a larger share of the market overall.”

Wilson said he expected the real estate market’s current flat trend to continue into autumn and eventually winter.

“It’s going to take some time before interest rate relief fully takes hold and for the labour market to regain its footing again. In the meantime, those who are in a position to purchase are going to benefit from having a wider selection to choose from.”

Last week, CoreLogic’s Home Value Index (HVI) showed property values rose 0.5% in March when compared with February. This followed a 0.4% rise in February.

CoreLogic NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said March’s result signalled the next phase in New Zealand’s property market has begun.

“The falls in mortgage rates since around July or August last year were always going to take a little bit of time to flow through to house prices … The abundance of listings has been an extra limiting factor for property values … but the lags have now worked their way through the system and, with signs becoming clearer that the economy has started to turn a corner, confidence is returning to the property market,” Davidson said.

However, a fresh boom in house prices seems unlikely given restraints in place such as caps on debt-to-income ratios for mortgage lending, he said.

“Undoubtedly, this cautious outlook will be welcomed by aspiring buyers who may have been concerned about property values rising beyond their reach again, provided that they can navigate the new credit rules in the first place.”

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics such as retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.