Aotearoa's property prices have risen for the first time in over a year, according to Trade Me's property price index for January.
The national average asking price for a property in January was $876,250 – up 0.7% compared to the same time last year.
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Loyd said while the increase may seem small, it speaks volumes about a potential recovery of the property market this year.
"The last time we witnessed a year-on-year rise in the national average asking price was over a year ago."
Loyd said next month Kiwis will see if the trend continues, but there are "encouraging signs" with indications inflation is starting to ease.
"There's a possibility that interest rates could also drop this year, helping to boost confidence in the property market in 2024."
Regional areas help boost national prices
The increase in the average asking price was led by regional areas like the West Coast, which rose by 8% to $480,250.
Taranaki was also up 3.4% to $682,600, and Otago saw an increase of 3.1% to $888,800.
When looking at the major urban centres, prices in the Auckland and Wellington regions continue to decline year-on-year – however, Trade Me noted this decline has "slowed considerably" since last month.
In the Auckland region, there was a decline of 2.2%, bringing the average asking price to $1,072,350.
Meanwhile, the Wellington region saw a decrease of 1.7%, with the asking price in the capital now at $845,800.
"In these populated regions, house prices have declined year on year; however, the pace of this decline slowed in February and they've bounced back since their lowest in August 2023.
"Over the last six months, we've observed this decrease reducing from around 10% to 5%, specifically in the Auckland region. If this trend persists, we may witness asking prices beginning to show positive movement in the coming months," Loyd added.
Record high for Christchurch properties
Christchurch has observed record highs across all properties with one to four bedrooms.
Properties with one or two bedrooms now boast an average asking price of $544,200, marking a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year, while three or four bedroom properties have risen by 3.1% to $775,150.
All property sizes in Wellington city witnessed a decline, with properties featuring over five bedrooms dropping by 12.6% to $1,314,850.
"In Tāmaki Makaurau, properties with more than five bedrooms surged by 14.1%, driving the average asking price just above three million dollars.
"Additionally, there was an uptick of 3.2% in three or four bedroom properties, pushing the average price to $1,609,800. These figures solidify Auckland's position as the city (as opposed to the region) with the highest increase in average asking price, rising by 4.2%."
Trade Me also noted the bump in interest on the property market in February compared to January, and reported a 14% increase.
Hawkes Bay recorded the most substantial spike in demand at 44%, which they put down to Cyclone Gabrielle's impact on the region.
However, there are also indications housing supply has gone up across the country with a 9% increase in the number of listings on Trade Me, compared to February 2023.
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