Figures released by realestate.co.nz show it would take 134 weeks, or two years, to sell all the properties listed at current sales rates.
This week it was revealed Northland had New Zealand's strongest regional lift in house sales last month compared to October.
However, David Chaston, of interest.co.nz, said while the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed it took 53 days on average for a home to sell in Northland, those figures were based only on the real estate agent who sold it.
"It doesn't take into account that the property may have been listed with one or two other agents beforehand who may have had it on the market for two or three months without selling it before the owner moves to the agent who does," he said.
Realestate.co.nz CEO Alistair Helm Alistair Helm said the increase in new properties pushed the total homes for sale in Northland to 4341.
"We take the number of properties on the market and divide it by the rate of sale to come up with how long it would take to sell every property," Mr Helm said.
Despite a big increase in properties hitting the market - the number of new properties added to the market rose a massive 46 per cent, from 487 in November 2010 to 712 last month - the situation was actually improving, he said.
Back in April it would have taken 220 weeks to sell all the properties on the market at that time, but there were very few sales happening then, Mr Helm said.
Confidence had since crept back into the market, with the Reserve Bank saying there shouldn't be interest rate rises until 2013.
It was not unusual for Northland to have about 4000 homes up for sale in the area because of the large number of holiday homes in the area.
Mr Chaston said a number of reasons may be contributing to the glut of properties for sale in Northland, including people quitting holiday or rental properties and others needing to downgrade because of their financial situation. While the rest of the country was looking like it was heading toward a sellers' market, with demand outstripping supply, Northland remained a buyer's market.
"So if you have a job and decent income and some security then it's a great time to buy [in Northland]," Mr Chaston said.
Michael Springford, owner of LJ Hooker Whangarei, said 80 per cent of properties for sale were in the $380,000 to $400,000 range.
"There are a few factors that we are all governed by, like land supply, where the cost of development has gone out the window. Most developers are broke, banks are not lending, and in three years we should see a shortage of building sites," he said.
Another problem faced by the property market was that people were renovating instead of building homes, Mr Springford said.
"Job security is another issue in Whangarei. That's why people are hesitant to buy homes, but Northland is a great place to retire," he said.