March housing sales numbers and prices little changed from March last year but buyers becoming more cautious, REINZ says

The housing market remained flat in March, with sales numbers and prices almost unchanged year-on-year.

March is traditionally the busiest month of the year for residential property sales, and this was the case over the past 12 months. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand is reporting 7853 residential sales for the month, the most in the last 12 months and almost unchanged (down 0.1%) compared to March last year.

Prices were similarly flat with the REINZ House Price Index (HPI) up 0.2% nationally compared to March last year, but down 0.3% compared to February.

The REINZ HPI is considered the most reliable indicator of price movements because it adjusts for differences in the mix of properties sold each month, unlike averages or medians.

However, the REINZ's median price was $788,000 in March, down 0.9% compared to February, and 0.3% lower than March last year - the monthly regional median prices can be seen in the interactive graph below.

On average it was taking 41 days to sell a property in March, unchanged from a year ago.

"Despite rising fuel costs and global uncertainty, buyers didn't step away, but they are becoming more cautious and taking longer to make decisions," REINZ Chief Executive Lizzy Ryley said.

"The Reserve Bank holding the Official Cash Rate at 2.25% has provided a level of stability for the market but there is still uncertainty ahead.

"While we haven't yet seen a significant impact form global events in the data, agents across the country report that buyers became more cautious towards the end of March," she said.

See the table below for the regional figures.

REINZ House Price Index - March 2026