The long evident signs of cooling of Auckland housing market were confirmed when Real Estate Institute (REINZ) figures for October showed that median prices in Auckland fell by 3.2 per cent year on year to $850,000.
This is the biggest fall in Auckland housing prices since 2010.
However, house prices continue to rise in most places around the country barring except Nelson, along with Auckland – a sign that housing, in general, is in good shape.
Nelson experienced a decrease of 6.8 per cent to $447,500 - the biggest drop since April 2012.
Every other region in New Zealand rose taking the median house price for New Zealand, excluding Auckland, to a record price of $440,000 (an 8.5 per cent increase).
Bindi Norwell, CEO at REINZ told the media that the possible reasons behind the fall in median price year-on-year for Auckland are selling off a large number of apartments in the city.
"The Auckland Region's decrease of 3.2% year-on-year is predominantly the result of a large number of apartments being sold in the old Auckland City boundary which has therefore brought the median price down for the entire region," Ms Norwell said.