Auckland's housing market is moving to favour buyers.
New statistics show sellers in Auckland are asking around 1.9 percent less for their house than last month, and there's been an increase in listings.
The average Auckland asking price is now $942,232, down from $960,715 a month ago. Listings are up 15.2 percent on this time last year.
Nationwide prices are up only 0.3 percent, after a 2.8 percent fall the month before.
Smaller regions and the capital have hit record all-time high average asking prices, offsetting falls in Auckland and Waikato (down 4.1 percent to $584,785).
"Since records began in 2007, Marlborough, central North Island, South Island, Manawatu/Whanganui and of course Wellington, all saw an all-time high average asking price," said realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor.
The average asking price in Marlborough is now $536,146, Central North Island $518,774, and Manawatu/Whanganui $389,850.
Wellington's average asking price sits at $657,788, up 0.7 percent after falling about the same amount the previous month.
"We saw about 944 fresh new listings hit the Wellington region, and the asking price sat at just over $650,000 for March this year," said Taylor.
Homes are also taking longer to sell.
"It's an average of 57 days for homes to sell in Auckland, which gives buyers a bit more choice," said Taylor. "If they are looking to sell their property, they should be prepared for a little bit of a longer sell-time."
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She said the market has moved on from the "pressure cooker" of 2017, with buyers now able to take their time.
"Looking at the past five years, the relatively stable price environment we have right now is a stark contrast to the heady increases between 2015 and 2017. Less stress and more realistic expectations."
Asking prices jumped nearly $200,000 between 2015 and 2017 in Auckland, but have since stabilised.
The biggest fall in prices occurred in Gisborne, down 14.8 percent to $380,042. Central Otago/Lakes remains the most expensive region at $1,012,234, up 0.2 percent. The cheapest is the West Coast, $258,220.
Newshub.
