Residential property values are declining slowly but steadily in most parts of the country, according to the latest figures from Quotable Value (QV).
According to the QV House Price Index, the average value of New Zealand dwellings was $909,517 at the end of July, down 1.9% over the previous three months.
However average values are falling much faster at the top of the North Island, with the biggest decline of 3.9% occurring in Whangarei, followed by Auckland at 3.4%.
The average dwelling value in Auckland has now declined for six consecutive months and was almost $53,000 lower at the end of July than it was at the end of January.
That means average values in Auckland have been declining at an average rate of almost $9000 a month, or $2120 a week.
The only major urban districts that did not post a decline in average values in July were Marlborough, Queenstown-Lakes and Invercargill.
"Residential property values are slowly shrinking across all price brackets in almost every part of Aotearoa," QV Operations Manager James Wilson said.
"This is to be expected given the current challenging economic conditions, with a rising sense of job insecurity and persistently high interest rates leaving both buyers and sellers between a rock and a hard place.
"We're also seeing a pretty major imbalance between the number of properties available for sale on the market this winter and a shallow pool of buyers who are willing and able to make a purchase.
"This is helping to maintain downward pressure on prices overall, with sellers having to adjust their expectations, pull their listings, or play the waiting game until conditions eventually improve," Wilson said.
The table below shows the average dwelling values and quarterly change for all main urban districts around the country.
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