Source: RealEstate.co.nz
- Stock at its highest December levels since 2014 with more than 30,000 properties for sale on realestate.co.nz
- Bay of Plenty, Wellington, and Central North Island buck seasonal slowdown with double-digit growth in new listings
- National average asking price holds steady at $860,274 but Wellington takes a tumble into the $700,000 price bracket.
Those dreaming of a new home over the Christmas period had plenty to choose from. The end of 2025 saw December stock levels surpass 30,000 for the first time in any December in a decade and capped off a full year of consistently high supply, with more than 30,000 properties on the market every month of 2025.
Latest data from realestate.co.nz shows the number of properties for sale on the site in December was at a 10-year high, with stock levels up 3.1% year-on-year to 30,390. A total of 11 regions recorded year-on-year growth, with Northland (up 11.4%) and Auckland (up 11.0%) leading the way.
Vanessa Williams, spokesperson for realestate.co.nz, says vendors usually hold off selling during the silly season, but this year, nine of 19 regions bucked the trend with a rise in new listings compared to last year.
“The lift in stock to a 10-year December high suggests that while sellers are feeling confident heading into 2026, buyers are being more considered and benefiting from greater choice,” says Williams.
Bay of Plenty bucks the seasonal slowdown with 22% increase in new listings
The property market, typically quiet in December, saw a 2.8% year-on-year increase in new listings with 4,900 properties hitting the market. Bay of Plenty led the way with 385 new listings in the region up 22.2% compared to December 2024. Wellington (224 listings) and Central North Island (114 new listings) also recorded double-digit year-on-year growth in new listings, up 18.5% and 12.9% respectively.
“Typically, December is a time when vendors hit pause, so seeing this level of activity tells us many people were motivated to sell and felt confident enough to list – even before their Christmas shopping was finished,” notes Williams.
It was a tale of two Decembers, however, in which Marlborough (77), Nelson & Bays (118), and Gisborne (21) all recorded double-digit declines in new listings, down 25.2%, 24.8% and 19.2% respectively, compared to December 2024.
Meanwhile, Waikato recorded a December all-time low with just 355 new listings, a stark contrast from its position in November 2025, when the region reported over 1,000 listings in a month.
Wellington’s average asking price takes a tumble into the $700,000 bracket
Nationally, the average asking price remained steady with a 1.7% year-on-year increase to $860,274. Just three regions recorded double digit year-on-year growth:
Bay of Plenty’s average asking price increased 13.3% to $931,602
Central Otago/Lakes District’s average asking price increased 13.1% to $1,556,852
Otago’s average asking price increased 11.7% to $614,849
Gisborne, a standout region for 2025, experienced the most significant decline in average asking price, falling 29.1% from December 2024 to $532,314, only the third time the region has recorded an average asking price in the $500,000 bracket this year.
The capital also saw a fall in average asking price, down 9.1% year-on-year to $797,463. This dip saw Wellington’s average asking price fall below $800,000 for the first time since May 2024.
Williams says this drop presents a rare opening for buyers in the capital.
“While average asking prices have held in the $800,000s for much of the year, this softening suggests sellers are meeting the market. For buyers who’ve been waiting on the sidelines, this could be the window they’ve been looking for, especially with more stock on offer.”
Does December set us up for a year of activity in the property market?
“More than 30,000 homes on the market in December is a rarity,” says Williams. “With national prices holding steady and stock at multi-year highs in the final month of the year we could see renewed activity in early 2026, especially if confidence builds over summer.”
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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.
New listings are a record of all the new residential dwellings listed for sale on realestate.co.nz for the relevant calendar month. The site reflects 97% of all properties listed through licensed real estate agents and major developers in New Zealand. This description gives a representative view of the New Zealand property market.
Stock is the total number of residential dwellings that are for sale on realestate.co.nz on the penultimate day of the month.
Rate of sale is a measure of how long it would take, theoretically, to sell the current stock at current average rates of sale if no new properties were to be listed for sale. It provides a measure of the rate of turnover in the market.
Seasonal adjustment is a method realestate.co.nz uses to represent better the core underlying trend of the property market in New Zealand. This is done using methodology from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.
Truncated mean is the method realestate.co.nz uses to supply statistically relevant asking prices. The top and bottom 10% of listings in each area are removed before the average is calculated to prevent exceptional listings from providing false impressions.
