The average asking price of residential properties listed for sale on Trade Me Property in the three months to December was down almost 1% compared to the three months to November.
However the average asking price of $504,300 for the fourth quarter of last year was up 12.8% compared to the same period of 2013.
Trade Me's head of property Nigel Jeffries said the pause in the recent surge in asking prices was expected.
"December is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year so this slowdown is more about there being fewer listings, rather than an underlying weakness in price expectations by sellers," he said.
On an annual basis, the biggest increase in asking prices was in Hawkes Bay where they were up 20.3% for the year, followed by Southland at 16.4%, Taranaki 15.3%, Canterbury 10.9% and Auckland 10.7%.
All other regions recorded single digit increases in average asking prices for the year, apart from Gisborne which was the only region to show a decline, with the average asking price down 3.7% compared to a year earlier.
Jeffries said there was a trend for the asking prices of smaller properties to be increasing at a faster rate than larger homes.
Across the country, asking prices for large houses with five more more bedrooms were up 7.6% on a year ago, while medium-sized houses with 3-4 bedrooms were up 11.9% and small houses with 1-2 bedrooms were up 16.3%.
The average asking price of apartments set a new record of $431,900 in the three months to December, up 14.9% compared to the same three months of 2013.
In Auckland, the country's largest market for apartments by far, the average asking price of $436,900 was up 22% on the same period of 2013.
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