- 1,374 listings recorded a price drop in Q4 2025, the lowest number in two years
- Only 3% of all listings were reduced, the lowest portion in two years
- $41,309,345 million was the total value of price reductions, the lowest total price drop in a quarter
- Stable OCR could be first sign of a property market recovery in 2026.
Latest data from realestate.co.nz shows that more than $40 million was trimmed from property asking prices across New Zealand in the last quarter of 2025.
In a shift that may signal improving market conditions, the total amount that dropped out of the market was $14 million less than the $55 million slashed in Q4 of 2024 *
In Q4 2025, fewer properties reduced the price of their listing. And of the listings that did drop their price, they did so by slightly less than any other quarter.
*This data reflects the difference between a property’s original asking price when listed on realestate.co.nz and its price at the point of sale or withdrawal. While it doesn’t show the final sale price, it provides a strong signal of how much sellers are adjusting to meet buyer demand.
Is the property market in recovery?
Vanessa Williams, spokesperson for realestate.co.nz, says the latest figures could be an early indicator that the market is beginning to swing in a different direction.
“While $40 million coming out of the market is still significant, fewer vendors reduced the price of their property last quarter than we’ve seen over the two years prior, an indication that the overall amount trimmed from the market in Q4 is a result not of smaller reductions but by fewer properties needing to reduce their price.”
Williams says: “This indicates that sellers may be starting to price more realistically from the outset, and buyer confidence could be slowly returning. It’s not a full recovery yet, but it could be one of the first signs that conditions are beginning to stabilise.”
How much are sellers cutting property asking prices by?
Nationally, vendors who reduced their asking prices in Q4 2025 took an average of $30,065 off each listing.
Regionally, Marlborough recorded the largest average drop, with sellers trimming $50,500 from their original asking prices. Gisborne followed at $49,333, while Northland, Wellington, and Coromandel rounded out the top five with average reductions of $38,479, $37,607, and $35,645, respectively.
Overall, fewer vendors dropped their prices in the final quarter of 2025, with the lowest percentage of price drops occurring in 11 of the 19 regions.
Signs of stabilisation heading into 2026?
The data suggests the intense repricing seen throughout 2025 may be easing.
“The significant amounts we saw slashed from the market in the earlier quarters of 2025 certainly hasn’t continued, which is a sign confidence is slowly returning to the market,” says Williams. “The stability of the OCR in this week’s announcement should also be an encouraging sign that the market may not be too far away from hitting its stride in 2026.”
realestate.co.nz is helping buyers and sellers move. Properties listed on realestate.co.nz that drop their price can receive free billboard advertising, while buyers who have saved them are alerted instantly.
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Market insights: Search by suburb to see median sale prices, popular property types and trends over time: https://www.realestate.co.nz/insights
Glossary of terms:
Average asking price (AAP) is neither a valuation nor the sale price. It is an indication of current market sentiment. Statistically, asking prices tend to correlate closely with the sales prices recorded in future months when those properties are sold. As it looks at different data, average asking prices may differ from recorded sales data released simultaneously.
Price drop reflects the difference between a property’s original asking price when listed on realestate.co.nz and its price at the point of sale or withdrawal. While it doesn’t show the final sale price, it provides a strong signal of how much sellers are adjusting to meet buyer demand.
