Home | April 2025 Market News
Trends we are noticing are:
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has released figures for April, revealing a slightly slower and more subdued market as the cooler months arrive. Although sales have increased compared to April 2024, the national median price has declined. Additionally, new listings entering the market have also reported a drop.
“This April, there were many factors that influenced the property market, such as school holidays, ANZAC Day, and Easter. Some salespeople mentioned that there were fewer attendees at open homes and fewer successful auctions, ” says Acting Chief Executive Rowan Dixon.
New Zealand’s median price declined by 1.1% year-on-year to $781,000. In New Zealand, excluding Auckland, the median price remained unchanged year-on-year, at $700,000. Auckland’s median price declined by 4.0% year-on-year, at $1,000,000.
The number of properties sold in New Zealand in April 2025 increased by 9.5% compared to April 2024, rising from 5,871 to 6,427 sales. Excluding Auckland, sales increased 11.1% year-on-year from 4,023 to 4,470.
“There has been a notable increase in sales across the country. However, despite this upward trend, property prices continue to decline due to a significant number of properties still available on the market. Real estate professionals report that buyers are seeking properties at lower price points, and they are willing to explore alternative options if they view prices as being excessively high,” says Dixon.
Fewer properties were listed for sale this April compared to both the previous month and the same period last year. New Zealand experienced an 11.6% decline in listings from April 2024, totalling 8,518 listings. Excluding Auckland, a 5.7% decline was reported in listings, bringing the total to 5,739. Inventory levels for New Zealand increased by 6.2% year-on-year to 35,924 properties for sale.
Sales often decline in winter or over the holidays, so month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal behaviour rather than true market shifts. Seasonally adjusted (SA) data eliminates these seasonal effects and shows the actual trend.
“Looking at sales activity across New Zealand, the raw data shows a 17.6% drop in activity from March to April 2025,” notes Dixon. “However, when seasonally adjusted, this substantial decline becomes just a 0.5% decrease. This reveals that while transaction numbers have fallen as expected for this time of year, the actual market activity remains stable when seasonal patterns are taken into account.”
This month, market sentiment is largely influenced by easing interest rates and concerns about job security. As interest rates decrease, we can expect an increase in market activity. However, vendors should be aware that prices haven’t yet aligned with these changes and should be ready to adapt to evolving market dynamics, Dixon advises.
Compared to April 2024
Compared to March 2025
The median price for Canterbury increased by 4.0% year-on-year to $697,000.
Owner-occupiers and first home buyers were the most active buyer groups. Most vendors were meeting market expectations regarding price. Attendance at open homes varied around the region, highly dependent on the property.
Market sentiment remained largely unchanged from previous months, with high levels of buyers meeting strong listing numbers, indicating a happy medium at the moment. However, local agents state it might not take much to tip the scales either way.
– Rowan Dixon REINZ Acting Chief Executive
National Median Price $781,000
Median price down 1.1% compared to April 2024
National Median Days to Sell 42
The total number of properties sold in New Zealand increased by 9.5% year-on-year, to 6,427 properties sold in April 2025. New Zealand, excluding Auckland, saw sales increase by 11.1% year-on-year, to 4,470 properties sold in April 2025.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted figures for New Zealand show a sales count year-on-year increase of 15.4%.
Information sourced from REINZ Real Estate Institute New Zealand
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