New Zealand house prices continued to rise in April, despite market concerns following the Government's housing announcement.
The Government unveiled a raft of new measures in March which were designed to make it easier for first-home buyers to get onto the property ladder and crackdown on investors.
But despite some concerns about the changes, the housing market continued to run hot in April.
The April Property Report from realestate.co.nz shows the average asking price for Kiwi properties rose from $835,844 in March to $839,035 in April.
Unsurprisingly, Auckland had the highest average asking price at $1,099,154, followed by Central Otago/Lakes district at $1,029,304 and Coromandel at $920,722.
The West Coast had the lowest average asking price at $359,263.
Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor said over the past year, house prices have been steadily rising month on month.
"I don't think rising prices will come as news to anyone, but what's interesting is how quickly and strongly the market bounced back after lockdown in April last year," she said.
Four North Island regions hit all-time asking price highs in April 2021: Northland, Taranaki, Wellington and Manawatu/Whanganui.
Northland reached a record high for the fourth consecutive month with houses now on average asking for $751,670.
Wellington also had a new record with the average asking price up to $887,837 - a 4.3 percent increase from $850,912 in March.
Taranaki and Manawatu/Whanganui also reached peak prices since records began 14 years ago, with average asking prices of $553,071 and $604,196 respectively.
Taylor said there had been a high demand for properties around New Zealand over the past year, but it hasn't been matched by the number of properties available.
"Stock shortages have posed real challenges for buyers and we can see how much pressure this has put on prices," she said.
Just 9145 properties were listed for sale nationwide during April 2021 - 2177 fewer than the 11,332 listed in March, but Taylor assured the downward trend occurs annually.
"As we head into winter, we usually start to see less activity in the property market. In a year that's been anything but normal, it will be interesting to see whether this trend continues."
