Auckland and Wellington remain soft despite national lift
New Zealand house prices are barely moving, even after three straight months of increases.
Property values rose by 0.1% in April, bringing the national median to $809,101, according to Cotality NZ’s latest Home Value Index. That’s a slight lift from earlier in the year, but still 16.8% below the January 2022 peak.
The gain comes despite weak market conditions. Sales have been slow, listings remain high, mortgage rates are edging up, and economic signals have softened. Ongoing uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict is also weighing on sentiment.
“We’ve now seen property values edge higher for three months in a row, despite the sluggish start in 2026 for sales volumes, listings still elevated, the Iran conflict emerging, mortgage rates gradually rising, and economic indicators worsening. Given all of that, it’s quite surprising property values have crept up on average. Although that being said, it’s not universal in every area, with key centres such as Auckland and Wellington still looking pretty soft,” Cotality NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said.
Across the main centres, Dunedin led with a 0.8% rise in April. Christchurch and Tauranga both increased by 0.4%, while Hamilton rose 0.3%. Auckland and Wellington slipped by 0.1%.
Within Auckland, results were mixed. Small gains were seen in Papakura and North Shore, while Franklin, Auckland City, and Waitākere recorded declines. Over the past three months, some areas have risen, while others, including Waitākere and Franklin, have fallen.
“There have been hints that property values in some parts of Auckland may have started to turn a corner in the first few months of 2026. But the data remains patchy, and the bigger picture is that values across the board are still lower than a year ago, with only North Shore’s decline from the peak currently sitting at less than 20%,” Davidson said.
He added that Wellington followed a similar pattern, with small gains in some areas and slight declines in others. The region remains one of the weakest in terms of price falls over recent years.
Outside the main centres, results were also uneven. Hastings posted a 1.0% drop in April, while New Plymouth dipped slightly. Most other regional centres recorded small increases, with Whangārei rising 0.9%.
“It seems fairly clear that good growth lately in export industries, including agriculture and tourism, has been a factor behind higher levels of economic confidence and property market resilience in many regional areas. But higher fuel and fertiliser prices are nevertheless squeezing profit margins and could start to take the shine off those regional economies as the next few months unfold,” Davidson said.
Looking ahead, inflation and interest rates are expected to shape the market.
“But they’re watching closely for any signs of second-round price effects from the Iran conflict such as higher wage demands or raised inflation expectations. There’s even now a growing view that they may want to get ahead of the curve with an OCR rise as soon as July,” Davidson said, adding that if borrowing costs continue to rise, the recent gains may not hold.
“Either way, it would not be a surprise to see mortgage rates slowly heading upwards, and recent, modest house price increases flattening off or even going into reverse.”
