Real estate statistics
House prices rise from March, annual decline narrows to 0.3%pa
15 May 2025
Our take on the latest Real estate statistics (Thu 15 May 2025)
House prices up 0.4% from March (sa)
House sales up 1.4% from March (sa)
Stock of properties for sale down 1.1% from March (sa)
The key numbers...
- House prices rose 0.4% in April from March, the largest month-on-month increase in six months. This rise more than offsets the 0.3% fall in March (all figures seasonally adjusted). The annual decline narrowed significantly to just 0.3%, the smallest annual fall in this recent downturn which began in early 2024. REINZ’s house price index is now at its highest level since April last year.
- House sales rose 1.4% in April from March (based on Infometrics seasonal adjustment) and were 9% higher than in April 2024, marking 10 consecutive months where sales have been higher than a year ago.
- Trends in house prices across the main centres remain mixed. House prices in Canterbury remain resilient, up 1.6%pa in April. In Auckland, house prices were unchanged from a year ago, following 10 consecutive months of declines on a year ago. However, house prices in Wellington declined further, extending the annual fall to 4.2%pa, the largest annual decline since September 2023.
- The stock of properties available for sale fell 1.1% from March, after remaining largely flat over the past three months at around 32,900. New listing numbers fell back 8.7% from March but remain high (all figures seasonally adjusted).
Annual house price decline narrowing
REINZ House Price Index, annual % change
...and our reaction
- There are signs that buyers are happier with current mortgage rate offerings over the past few months, as the two-year term became the second most popular rate for new mortgage debt in March, coupled with a notable decline in lending on the six-month rate. This shift could signal a coming uptick in demand for housing, with buyers now happier to fix longer-term.
- The median length of time to sell has been volatile over the past six months but fell by more than 3.0% in both March and April, and is down to 42 days, the shortest time since May 2024.
- Although house sales in April were up 9.5% from a year ago, they were largely unable to make a significant dent in the surplus of stock available for sale. At this level, the stock of properties available should limit the extent of near-term house price growth.
- As we are nearing the peak of the unemployment rate, the shifting labour market should help households feel more confident entering the market to purchase a property. We expect improving levels of potential buyers in the second half of this year to drive modest house price growth by the end of the year.
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