Just one in five sellers say the election is shaping their listing decisions
New Zealand's upcoming election is having only a limited effect on home buying and selling decisions, according to new Trade Me Property research, with practical factors such as interest rates and school zones carrying far more weight than the political cycle.
Election a minor factor for most
A survey of more than 2,000 active property buyers and homeowners found just 20% of sellers and 22% of buyers regard the election as a primary influence on their decisions, with only 6% describing themselves as strongly impacted — a group Trade Me Property says is dominated by property investors watching policy developments.
New Zealanders go to the polls on 7 November, with advance voting opening 26 October, yet the survey found little sign this timeline is reshaping buyer or seller behaviour. Seller activity reflects that stability: 25% of prospective vendors plan to list in October, with a further 13% intending to list before the end of September.
Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd (pictured) said that steady pattern reflects a market driven by fundamentals rather than politics, adding that evaluating the country as a single market "misses the local dynamics at play."
Regional divergence widens beneath a flat national picture
Independent sales data backs up the picture of a cooling market: BNZ's economic research, citing REINZ data, shows national house prices fell for a third consecutive month in August, down 0.9% year-on-year.
Against that backdrop, Trade Me's own asking-price data shows national averages flat year-on-year in August, up just 0.4% to $828,250, though that headline figure masks sharp regional splits. Southland recorded asking price growth of 17%, and Otago nearly 10%, while Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, and Northland all fell by more than 4%.
Around 63% of surveyed sellers said broader economic conditions had adjusted their price expectations, and roughly one in four reported actively cutting asking prices to secure a sale.
Opportunities emerging for first-home buyers and upgraders
The flat national picture is masking genuine openings for some buyer groups. Asking prices for entry-level one- and two-bedroom properties fell more than 2% to $569,150 over the past year, which Lloyd said was giving first-home buyers clearer pathways into ownership than in recent years. He also pointed to narrowing price gaps between mid-sized and larger homes, particularly in Auckland, as creating more viable trade-up options for existing owners.
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