The national median house sale price increased 10.6 percent over 2018, with Gisborne homes seeing the greatest jump.
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has released its year in review, revealing some interesting insights into the market which the organisation's chief executive Bindi Norwell has called "healthy".
- Prices plummet in Queenstown after foreign buyer ban introduced
- Housing and Urban Development Authority: Auckland and Wellington Mayors want to be heard
- Vibrant Auckland development evokes Kiwi dream
Between January and November 2018, the national median sale price increased 10.6 percent from $520,000 to $575,000. But that is down from the 11.2 per cent increase that house prices jumped during the same period in 2017.
If you exclude Auckland house prices from the mix, the national median increased 7.8 percent from $450,000 to $485,000.
While the Auckland median sale prices increased 5.7 percent from $820,000 to $867,000, Ms Norwell said the city's market has been stabilising around $850,000 "for some time now" and expects a similar picture next year.
Gisborne had the biggest jump over the 11 month period with a 26 percent increase from $275,000 to $346,000.
The smallest jump was in Nelson, where prices rose 2 percent from $510,000 to $520,000.
No regions had their median price decrease.
Despite the higher prices, nationally there were 72,188 property sales over the period, up 4.2 percent.
"What was interesting was sale count, the number of properties that was sold was up three thousand houses, that is actually nine houses a day".
Ms Norwell said regional market growth had been impressive.
"We've seen also that continued strength in the regions in terms of price growth."
She told Newshub the market could be determined as being in a "healthy place" due to the decrease in how long it takes to sell a property.
The days to sell across New Zealand decreased 23.9 percent from 46 to 35 days. The decrease was stronger when Auckland is excluded, down 26.1 percent from 46 days to 34.
"This means that it's taking a shorter time to sell properties compared to the same time the previous year, which is indicating that the market is in a healthy place," said Ms Norwell.
"We have had a lot of regulatory change with the new government," she said, pointing to the ban on letting fees and foreign buyers.
But she acknowledges that there is still continued difficult for first time buyers trying to get their foot on the property ladder with the long times it takes to get deposits and increasing prices.
She said it will be interesting to see what new developments are created in 2019 and if enough new houses are built to keep up with demand.
"All in all, we expect 2019 to be another good year for the industry."
Newshub.
