Property market muscles up with strongest February since 2013
Monday, 2 March 2026
February has delivered the strongest start to a property year in more than a decade, with new listings hitting their highest level for the month since 2013.
But it comes with another new figure - the total housing stock rose by just 1.8% to 36,357 - indicating more are being sold rather than sitting on the market.
The last time February stock levels topped 36,000 was in 2015.
New data from realestate.co.nz shows 12,252 properties were listed in February 2026 — up 7.8% year-on-year and the biggest February listing month in 13 years.
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New listings rose everywhere except Coromandel, Gisborne, Waikato, Central Otago/Lakes and Southland. Wellington went up 3.1% and Auckland by 10.8%.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood said sellers weren’t sitting on the sidelines anymore.
“When new listings rise faster than total stock, it tells us homes are being sold through rather than sitting on the market. That’s an early sign that activity is lifting and sellers are feeling more confident about listing.
“It’s still early days — the OCR held steady last week and it is an election year — but we are seeing the momentum we had hoped for in 2026,” she said.
Buyer activity was also picking up, with month-to-date buyers on the site up year-on-year. Sales data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand supported the trend, showing the strongest start to a year since the 2022 market peak.
Four regions recorded more than 20% year-on-year growth in new listings in February. Central North Island led the way, up 25% to 160 listings, followed by Taranaki, up 22.3% to 280, Marlborough rose 21.1% to 15 and Manawatū/Whanganui also up 20.9% to 549.
Southland was the only region to record a double-digit decline in new listings, down 13.9% to 217.
Nationally, the average asking price remained relatively stable, up 1.4% year-on-year to $861,180.
“Sales were up 1.9% year-on-year in January 2026 to a total of 3833 properties sold. This volume of sales has not been seen during the month of January since the peak of the market in 2022.”
However, regional results were more varied. Southland recorded a new all-time average asking price high of $584,768, up 10.6% compared with February last year while the Central North Island saw the largest annual lift in asking prices, up 15.3% to $868,057.
Central Otago/Lakes District reached $1,613,298, up 12.1% year-on-year, while Canterbury recorded a February high of $738,385, up 3%.
Northland’s average asking price fell back below $800,000 for the first time since June 2025, dropping to $799,879. Waikato edged back above $800,000 for the first time in a year, rising 0.8% annually.
Stock levels were broadly steady across most of the country, with 13 of the 19 regions recording single-digit growth. Northland posted the largest annual stock increase at 9.1%, and no region recorded double-digit stock growth.
Three regions recorded double-digit stock declines: Southland dropping to 21.4% to 522 properties, Central Otago/Lakes District down 15.6% to 862, and Otago down 11.5% to 1,041.
Wood said if current trends continued, the market could become more competitive through the year.
“If this continues, we could see conditions become more competitive. Confidence is rebuilding gradually, and while external factors like interest rates and the election will influence sentiment, we can expect to see more activity in the market throughout the year.”