Average asking price for New Zealand houses tops $1 million

The national average asking price for a home in January means house prices have more than doubled over the past 10 years to more than $1 million.

The sale of dwellings is slowing and due to tightened lending rules, according to realestate.co.nz. (Source: rnz.co.nz)

The national average asking price rose 1.4 per cent in January over December to just over $1 million on realestate.co.nz.

Gisborne’s asking prices rose 20 per cent while Central Otago/Lakes District dropped 8.1 per cent.

The number of houses available for sale was up 28.5 per cent on the year earlier, with a year-on-year increase of about 4500 homes.

However, January listings on realestate.co.nz were down 1.7 per cent year-on-year, reflecting a slowdown in the number of sales.

“A significant factor at play is that the sale of dwellings is slowing and we have tightened lending rules to thank for that,” spokesperson Vanessa Williams said.

While houses may be out of reach for many first time home buyers, the national average asking price for an apartment unit was $734,459.

“There are still pockets of affordability around the country.

“We see prices ranging from $300,000 to $600,000 for apartments often, depending on the region,” Williams said.