The latest Monthly Housing Chart Pack (Oct 2025) from the team at Cotality provides a snapshot of the key trends shaping Aotearoa’s property and rental market.
New Zealand’s residential real estate market is now valued at around $1.65 trillion, with property values edging up +0.1% in September. Over the past quarter, however, median values saw a modest -0.7% decline.
Sales activity remains steady, with 88,731 properties sold over the past 12 months, while total listings sit at 27,565. Although the number of available listings remains elevated, sales are currently outpacing new supply.
In the rental sector, growth is subdued but stable.
After reaching a low of 2.8% in late 2021, yields now sit at 3.8% nationally, the highest level since mid-2016. Across the main centres, yields range from 3.2% in Auckland and 3.3% in Wellington City, to 3.8% in Hamilton, 3.9% in Tauranga, 4.0% in Christchurch, and 4.4% in Dunedin.
Alongside easing mortgage rates, these improved yields mean that investment properties generally require a smaller income top-up than they have in recent years.
Buyer activity is also shifting, with first home buyers now making up a record 28% of purchases nationally, and an even stronger 36% in the wider Wellington region.
