REINZ's August sales numbers and median prices both dropped month-on-month

The housing market slump deepened in August with a dip in the median selling price and a substantial slide in sales numbers, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

The REINZ recorded 5866 residential property sales throughout the country in August. That was down 11.1% compared to July and -3.7% compared to August last year.

In Auckland, the country's largest property market, sales were -10.9% compared to July and -8.6% compared to August last year.

The national median selling price was also softer at $761,000 in August, down 1.2% compared to July and down 0.5% compared to August last year.

However the REINZ's House Price Index, which adjusts for differences in the mix of properties sold each month, was up 0.3% compared to July and up 0.4% compared to August last year.

That could suggest sales of lower to mid-priced properties held up better than higher priced properties in August.

"Across New Zealand, confidence in the property market is tempered with caution," REINZ Chief Executive Lizzy Ryley said.

"While many expected the recent OCR change to encourage more activity... at this stage, both buyers and sellers appear to be taking a measured approach, as they watch how the market unfolds, particularly as we near spring," she said.

However, Ryley was optimistic spring would bring an improvement in sales.

"The history of REINZ data suggests that we may be cautiously optimistic that we will see an increase in activity in the market in the coming months," she said.

The interactive graphs below show the monthly trends for median prices and sales volumes.in all regions.