June quarter figures from QV's House Price Index show declining housing values in most parts of the country.
The average New Zealand dwelling value fell 0.4% between March 31 and June 30 to $906,443, according to QV, with the country's average dwelling value now down 14.8% from to its 2022 market peak.
There were significant regional differences around the country. Of the 20 biggest urban areas, average values declined in 12, were unchanged in two and increased in six.
The biggest decline was in Gisborne, where the average value dropped 4.2%, followed by Whanganui which was down 1.8%, with Rotorua down 1.2% and Hastings down 1.2%.
In Auckland the average dwelling value slipped 0.7% for the quarter and in Wellington City it declined by 1.0%.
The biggest increase in average value in the June quarter was in Greymouth, up 2.2%, followed by Invercargill up 1.5% and Tauranga and Christchurch, both up 0.9%.
QV spokesperson Simon Petersen said weaker economic conditions and an abundance of properties for sale were helping to maintain downward pressure on prices, particularly in most North Island centres and at the top of the South Island. Canterbury and Southland continued to benefit from strong local economies, relative affordability and more balanced supply and demand conditions, which were supporting property values.
"Broader political and economic uncertainty is weighing heavily on buyer confidence, while cost of living pressures remain a significant challenge for many households," Petersen said.
"As a result, many prospective purchasers are choosing to sit on the sidelines," he said.
The chart below shows the quarterly movements in average values throughout the country, while the tables below the chart give a more detailed breakdown of value movements within the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury regions.
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QV House Price Index - June 2026
33 Comments
This is the opportunity of the decade. Astute buyers will be doing their due diligence right now. Interest rates aren't likely to spike like they were predicted to a few months ago, which gives confidence to borrowers.
With a glut of houses to come on the market as boomers offload their rental portfolio and move into rest homes I don’t see capital gains on the horizon anytime soon. House prices will be flat for a decade, rents won’t keep up with inflation. Rates and insurance continuing to rise faster than inflation. Property investment in 2026 is for the last suckers.
Completely disagree on that comment. Your assumption is that wages/salaries won't rise in the next decade. Household incomes are rising at a decent clip and their ability to service larger mortgages is also rising.
Nominal wage growth is being eaten alive by yearly compounding increases in healthcare, council rates, insurance, water, energy and food.
Which translates into more expensive rents, which makes property ownership more attractive. For me, energy costs have decreased because I have solar and no longer own any fossil cars. This brings my overall expenses back to around what they were last year.
Does your personal anecdote represent the market? Let’s look at the data:
- 4% of NZ households have solar installed
- 2.8% of all light vehicles are EV or PHEV
So you're saying buyers just need to fork out tens of thousands of dollars for an EV and solar on top of a massive mortgage to make their house purchase viable?
Your rental translation might need some tweaking
My last EV purchase was $3000. EVs aren't expensive if you're doing less than 100km per trip (~ 90% of NZers) and they're 80% cheaper to "fuel up" than fossil cars. Oh, and you will soon be able to pop down to your local Bunnings and buy a solar panel that can plug straight into your 3 point power socket. No expensive solar installs, take it with you if you move houses :-)
and you will soon be able to pop down to your local Bunnings and buy a solar panel that can plug straight into your 3 point power socket.
Reminds me of the mentality that slapping a bit of paint on some damp Aotearoa hovel, you can flip it for an extra $50K to the next punter.
Those ideas are not so fashionable anymore. And you have to feel for those who splashed out on the kitchen remodel that it might not even pay for itself in the next property sale.
And the government has only just started reviewing the rules for plug in solar. Right now, back feeding power into a 3 point power socket will void your home insurance. So another assumption is being made here
Same deal as telling GP's they can diagnose ADHD.
Just because the govt says they can, doesn't mean the resource is there to do so. There are GP's currently doin the required training to be capable of doin so, but will take time to finish, then they still need clinics and time to spend the time on this (2-3hour assessment as reported to me by a GP I know). The other factor is that many GP's are going into this as it will pay better then usual GP work, and reduce availability in an already strained network.
Parliament says one thing, but boots on the ground say otherwise. Go figure.
I thought recent data shows rents are flat? Even though the other expenses (for owning a rental) are up?
Just because one can service more debt doesn't mean they will, or should
The opportunity of the many past decades, will be when NZ PROPERTY bottoms, sometime in the 2030s!
Tens of thousands of poorly maintained NZ properties are in a "want to sell" market overhang..... waiting for better times to sell for good profits......they are fools.
The new NZ housing mantra is certainly: " THE BEST TIME, TO SELL NZ PROPERTY, WAS YESTERDAY"
Astute buyers, should only offer 2010 to 2014 values, as it where this market is going, or lower!
The bottom is coming in the 2030's now? I thought you said it was 2027/28? OK, will update my forecasts.
I’m with Gecko - I don’t see any meaningful increase in house prices this decade. Ie there is no rush at all to buy. Saving and waiting could well be the best financial decision in the long term (ie from a decades into the future perspective eg less mortgage to pay before retirement).
One of the biggest regrets I have is that I waited 10 years too long to purchase my first home. Needless to say, that 10 year delay cost me several hundred thousand dollars in lost opportunity (that my landlord happily gobbled up). To scare someone into delaying their home purchase decision for 10 years is poor financial advice. The thing about becoming a home owner is that it's a forced savings plan that teaches you money management skills and spending discipline. Since purchasing our first home, we have gained wealth steadily (through the good years and the bad), and a sense of stability and purpose that renting just can't give you. I'm not saying go out and buy a house tomorrow if you're not ready. I'm saying that if you have a decent deposit saved and a steady income, then don't wait until you think it's the right time to purchase because someone on the Internet said that the housing market has further to fall. If you find the perfect place and have done your due diligence on the property, then it will be a good long term investment that will set you on the road to long term weath gains.
Your experience is based on a different time, different world scenario, different exchange rates. Did you go overseas travelling for 10 years perhaps? Are the life experiences not worth something in comparison to the house price changes? It's easy to say this in hindsight, and I'm sure you had a good 10 years you are omitting. The matter now is that you have become more financially focused and suddenly see the benefit o buying early and being mortgage free earlier in life, however this doesn't prevent someone form excelling themselves, paying down their mortgage with fiscal discipline and higher salary over time.
Currently semi in the market - where can I find these properties going at 2010 - 2014 values? Cartainly not where I am looking where everything is still pretty much consistenty double+ that...
Property 1
10 Apr 2026
Sold for $1,350,000
8 Nov 2012
Sold for $530,000
Property 2
8 Apr 2026
Sold for $855,000
4 Jul 2015
Sold for $360,000
Yes, no amount of UPPERCASE hype is going to bring house prices down to those levels :-)
Not in nominal terms but in real terms the odds are much greater.
Semi in the market. Is that code for not pulling the trigger because of price, or something else?
Looking for a larger home than current, but no real need to move. Hence semi in the market if something comes up... unfortunately these bargains ol mate is talking about don't exist.
The opportunity of the many past decades, will be when NZ PROPERTY bottoms, sometime in the 2030s!
China's property prices are already back at 2006 levels with no sign of turning around. That's 20 years.
Assuming Aotearoa faced similar and the Ponzi ended in 2021 (unconfirmed according to sentiment at the water coolers and BBQs), the bottom would be at least in the 2040s.
We're likely to reach a new bottom before the end of the year.
If you're investing for the long term, do you really think buyers are going to let that dream home go to someone else if they think it could be $3k cheaper in November? The answer is no. That's because they know that in 15 years time it will likely have doubled in price.
"In it for the long term"... sound like code for make a cashflow loss and pray for capital gain -one day. And thats the rub. Bank risk proxys (speculord) all want to exit at "not market" related prices. A price that is eroding daily.
So head in the sand. FONGO is alive and well.
Much like the sharemarket, people who invest their money accept some risk and are prepared to see their portfolio dip from time to time. However, prudent investors know that "time in the market" always trumps "timing the market". If you sit around waiting for the "perfect" time to buy a house, you may never end up buying one.
My share portfolio is less risky than most property investor portfolios due to low leverage, never phones me in the night because the hot water has broken, and is always cashflow positive.
But each to their own - someone has to take the financial hit of providing rental properties for those not ready to buy yet. It's an increasingly selfless service to the country.
I think you’ve still got FOMO brain - which is so 2010’s. We’re living in a new paradigm now.
No I don't have FOMO brain. I have no desire to purchase any more properties (except perhaps a retirement unit in a decade). I'm just standing from a distance saying that if I was a younger person looking to get into their first home, I'd start looking now.
I'm in my mid30's and you'd be surprised how many I know that are in negative equity or delaying housing purchase due to seeing the impact of those in negative equity and the lack of options it has left them with.
I wouldn't advise anyone to buy, just to inform themselves, do the math based on their income, projected payback timeframe factoring for life choices such as kids, illness, rates, insurance, career pathway, historical OCR rate in the face of certain economic scenarios etc vs renting currently, and make their own call. To me it doesn't stack up in Wellington and Auckland but there are plenty of other places that do and more roles being capable of working from home as well to support this with a reasonable salary if one is a white collar worker at least.
Yes see many 30 years olds take on debt that will have them as total slaves to the bank, into the 60s or 70s.
Stick to only being a 3 to 4x DTI borrower, don't be the last overstretched, bag holders, useful idiot.
Except there's a real possibility it will be multiple times 3k by November. -1% shaves off around 8k on the average property.
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