Average asking prices on Trade Me property down by more than $60,000 from their summer peak

Property / news

Auckland and the West Coast recorded the biggest drops in average asking prices on Trade Me Property over winter

16th Jul 26, 10:53am by Greg Ninness

The average asking price of residential properties advertised for sale on Trade Me Property has declined by more than $60,000 over winter, while the average asking price in Auckland has declined by more than $100,000.

The average asking price of properties on the website hit its summer peak of $883,800 in February but then declined steadily to $823,300 in June, a drop of $60,500 (-6.8%).

In Auckland, the country's largest housing market, the average asking price declined from $1,096,000 to $992,700 over the same period, a decline of $103,300 (-9.4%) since February.

June was the first time that Auckland's average asking price has dropped below $1 million since the holiday-affected month of January.

In other main centre regions, the average asking price decline since February was -$54,250 in Waikato, -$42,450 in Bay of Plenty, -$81,750 in Wellington Region, -$14,100 in Canterbury and -$89,600 in Otago.

However, the biggest asking price decline between February and June was in the country's second smallest real estate market, with West Coast recording a drop of $104,200 (-20.8%) over that period.

Gisborne, the country's second smallest market, recorded an asking price decline of $72,600 (-10.6%).

The number of properties available for sale also declined, with total listings on the website dropping by about 5% between February and June.

Trade Me Property Customer Director Gavin Lloyd said the numbers were predictable for the time of year.

"It's fairly typical for the property market to shift down a gear or two as the temperature drops," he said.

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17 Comments

by Averageman | 16th Jul 26, 11:43am 1784159030

Sales are always soft over winter. That said there are dark clouds for this years summer season in the form of the election. A number of options will make the summer selling season dead. No clear winner, the Left taking power and dropping Tax, and or TOP being king maker and dropping the land tax torpedo.

Those hanging on for dear life financially waiting for 2021 pricing to return better have a 10 year plus strategy.

Popcorn.

by IT GUY | 16th Jul 26, 11:22am 1784157759

Probably nothing

by interesting1234 | 16th Jul 26, 11:54am 1784159664

I suspect many are waiting to see the outcome of the election before makin big decisions on this front. Many a boomer I know are in this boat, but if there is a hint of a capital gains tax being implemented then there will be a rush for the exit to capitalise on the gains and this will only decrease prices accordingly with the increase in supply. The usual comment I hear is along the lines of "why should I have to pay tax on the gains I've gotten from my hard work and risk taking!" My response about an investment house is a business venture so should be taxed accordingly never goes down well. They want to be treated as ma and pa investors when it benefits them, and then to be treated like a business when it also benefits the tax purposes, but not to be taxed appropriately. This naturally isn't representative of all baby boomers so I don't want to throw all under the same umbrella, more so those I know locally.

by rolande | 16th Jul 26, 12:19pm 1784161141

Yeah, Election. And I think that Iran War is back on now? Hard to tell really

by Averageman | 16th Jul 26, 1:13pm 1784164438

Agreed. If the Left and or TOP's tax make it to the Govt benches the herd will panic in its rush toward to the exit. After all, how many "PIs" openly brag about how much tax they pay or have paid....tui.

by danicriss | 16th Jul 26, 11:34pm 1784201680

I don't understand this take tbh

Labour's CGT applies only to future gains, it's not retroactive. In a falling market it amounts to nothing anyway

TOP are touting their landmark LVT (and Georgism), but their 2023 leader contended that they may not have enough power to negotiate a radical tax reform, so they wouldn't have pushed it in the first term anyway

I didn't follow Q, but unsure if anything material has changed, enough for her to change her stance

So, yeah, sounds bad in theory. In practice, the devil is in the details, and, as always, it's a much ado about nothing tbh

by Phoenix (FKA JC) | 16th Jul 26, 1:30pm 1784165441

They want to be treated as ma and pa investors when it benefits them, and then to be treated like a business when it also benefits the tax purposes, but not to be taxed appropriately.

Most boomers have a sketchy or little idea about the relationship between the money supply and the Ponzi.

They seem to think house prices doubling every 7-10 years is a natural phenomenon, like the seasons. People like Ashley Church reinforce these beliefs.

They also seem to believe that inflation whittles away debt over time, which is partly true, but also comes with crude assumptions that incomes rise broadly in line with inflation.

by interesting1234 | 16th Jul 26, 1:43pm 1784166184

They seem to think house prices doubling every 7-10 years is a natural phenomenon, like the seasons.

Yes indeed, and with that comes a superiority complex of knowing more than most and reaping the just rewards for 'taking risks', e.g using leverage in equity (the tenants paid for) to snowball a portfolio, and taking advantage of pre-ring-fencing changes etc which were stupidly tax advantageous at the time to offset personal income tax.

The opportunities seen back then will not be repeated, nor will we ever see 30 years of high migration and lowering real interest rates to push asset prices up as they were 1990-2021.

We are all a product of our times though, and I think it is very important we all factor these different times in when passing judgement. 1990's was a bleak time early on after the '87 crash, houses were cold, religion still had a greater cultural grip on NZ society and societal views, alcoholism was high, domestic abuse more common with less opportunities for women to escape, and an engrained mantra from the silent generation that things needed to be bigger, flasher, and people had to outdo one another (dinner parties, yuck).

My grandfather was a handy bloke in a small village who would weld engines together to build contraptions to help the community such as winches to haul peas to the sheds atop the hills that grew them, make toys for local kids from wood and metal, and welded together the first woodsplitter the village had ever seen using a lawnmower motor. He would lend this around so everyone could benefit, and fix it without complaint if it had issues. He saw the rise of the steam engine and then the automobile, mass adoption of 4 stroke engines, the introduction of TV, computers and mobile phones before he passed. Simply incredible to think this was all in one life, and brought about by the harnessing of fossil energy, but the mantra was different, community based, if everyone gives then everyone prospers. A far cry form the world of individualism today.

by Bubbles1972 | 16th Jul 26, 2:02pm 1784167358

Maybe, just maybe, we will return to those days of community in the future (post fossil fuels)?

by Bruce Crawford 4279 | 16th Jul 26, 5:47pm 1784180859

The spin is working, that's exactly the kind of attitude the vested intetests want to encourage.

by hamishk1 | 16th Jul 26, 5:08pm 1784178492

Auckland is great buying right now.

by redcows | 16th Jul 26, 5:46pm 1784180808

Rotflmao

by Averageman | 17th Jul 26, 8:16am 1784233005

Ok. Genuine query= have you purchased any of these in the last three months, and did the math work?

Or... if not, why not?

by Bruce Crawford 4279 | 16th Jul 26, 5:46pm 1784180781

" It's fairly typical for the property market to shift down a gear or two as the temperature drops,"

Okay Gavin, according to your logic prices fall when it gets cold and would rise back up as it gets warm.!! I havent heard that piece of BS before. But this is the kind of narrative from the vested interests whose meal ticket is dependent on the mug kiwi believing the spin and continuing to buy and sell shonky houses to each other at ever increasing prices.

by Zachary Smith | 16th Jul 26, 7:20pm 1784186408

It's common knowledge.

by NZGecko | 16th Jul 26, 11:32pm 1784201560

This "common knowledge" that in spring property booms, doubles every 10 years, caaant lose of property maaate, ended, dead cold like a dried husk of a dodo, in 2021.

Luddites who think NZ housing is about to take off again, are now the village idiot, who will look like the guy in the desert trying to flog off piles of sand, to the sick of sand camels.

Sell your grifters surprise investment property, while you still have the meagre gains in hand. Home "valuation evaporation" will be the increasing case, come 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030.....

by Averageman | 17th Jul 26, 8:24am 1784233471

Wow Zach...You agree the vested interests ticket clippers narative is all BS.