Auckland house prices take biggest quarterly tumble
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
There is no end in sight to the post-Covid housing market correction, with prices falling in the three main centres over the last quarter, Quotable Value says.
The property valuation company’s latest House Price Index shows house prices nationwide were down by 1.1% to an average of $900,521 over the three months to the end of September.
That figure was 0.2% lower than at the same time last year and 14.0% below the nationwide market peak of $1.04 million in January 2022.
Prices declined in all the main centres over the quarter, but Auckland recorded the biggest fall, down 2.5% to a regional average of $1.19m. The average was now 21.3% below the market peak.
Wellington prices fell 0.8% to $919,999, and Christchurch saw them ease back by 0.4% to $772,190. The two region’s average prices were down 27.5% and 0.5% respectively from their market peaks.
Hamilton’s average dropped 1.6% over the latest quarter, Dunedin’s was down 0.2%, and Tauranga’s remained unchanged.
QV national spokesperson Andrea Rush said Auckland and Wellington continued to see the strongest price drops since the market peak as the market correction from post-Covid boom extended.
The Reserve Bank’s recent cut to the official cash rate would gradually provide relief to borrowers and could help lift confidence in the housing market over spring and summer, she said.
“Decreasing home values and lower mortgage rates continue to improve affordability in many areas across the country making it a little easier for Kiwis to get on or move up the property ladder.”
Lower mortgage rates might encourage a modest rise in activity, she said.
“But any rebound in prices is likely to remain constrained by the broader economic recession, cost-of-living pressures, rising unemployment, and ongoing global uncertainty.
“For now it remains a buyers’ market, however deposit requirements and the ability to service mortgages remain barriers for many first-home buyers, and interest rates are still well above Covid levels.”
Around the country, quarterly price movements varied with some regions recording increases and others decreases.
Prices were down in Napier, Nelson, Whangārei, and Palmerston North, but up in Queenstown, Invercargill, Hastings and New Plymouth, for example.
Queenstown had the biggest price growth in the country, up 1.8% to an average of $1.88m, which underlined the centre’s resilience.
More generally, Rush said buyer demand was strongest for modern, well-maintained homes that were ready to move into.
Listings for new multi-unit townhouses and apartments remained plentiful, she said.
“But those developments lacking key features such as parking, storage, privacy, or good indoor – outdoor flow are taking longer to sell, with asking prices often being reduced, as developers become more motivated.”