August featured a substantial decline in residential property sales, deepening what was already a significant slump.
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) recorded 5430 residential sales in August, down 13% compared to August last year. That's the sixth lowest number of sales the REINZ has recorded in the month of August in data going back 35 years.
The biggest decline was in Gisborne, where sales numbers were down 35%.
The slump also affected all the main urban regions with sales in Auckland down 15%, Waikato down 19%, Bay of Plenty down 1%, Wellington Region down 14%, Canterbury 10% lower and Otago down 24%.
The median days to sell figure jumped to 51 days, up three days on August last year. That was the fourth highest days to sell figure for the month of August ever recorded by the REINZ.
In addition to the reduction in sales, REINZ members also received 5% fewer new listings in August year-on-year, suggesting both buyers and sellers are being extremely cautious.
Even with the decline in new listings, there were were a total of 32,908 residential properties available for sale through REINZ members at the end of August, up 9.7% compared to the same time last year. This suggests a very strong buyer's market had developed leading up to spring.
The REINZ's August report said stock levels were elevated as properties took longer to sell.
Price movements were more modest, with the REINZ's House Price Index (HPI) down 0.9% compared to August last year.
In Auckland the HPI was down 2.3%.
The REINZ's median selling price was $750,000 in August, down 1.4% compared to July and 1.3% lower than August last year.
The second table below shows the full regional movements in the HPI.
REINZ House Price Index - August 2026
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