Market feels flat
Two reports released this week highlight the reality facing some sellers as the market trudges into winter. The April figures from the Real Estate Institute underscore how little New Zealand house prices have moved in the last two years. The nationwide median house price was $780,000 in April 2023, $790,000 in April 2024, and $781,000 in April 2025. Auckland’s median house price has largely followed the same trajectory over the same period: $990,000, $1.04 million, and $1m respectively.
The REINZ house price index, which smooths out the volatility in the monthly sales figures and adjusts for seasonal changes, paints pretty much the same picture for most regions and major metros.
There’s been some price growth and some declines, but overall, the market has stalled or stabilised – depending on your viewpoint.
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Cotality’s latest Pain and Gain report, covering resales in the first quarter of this year, comes at the market from a different angle, but it’s largely saying the same thing. If you bought in the last three years, the chances of selling for a profit are slim. Here’s what Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) chief economist and OneRoof columnist Kelvin Davidson had to say in the report:
1) The share of properties reselling for a loss has “remained broadly stable” over the last two quarters, at a touch above 9%; and
2) The median loss has been hovering between $50,000 and $60,000 for the best part of three years now.
Davidson says the “abundance of listings on the market means buyers have the upper hand”, and that some vendors have “no choice but to take a deal below what they originally paid – especially if they’ve only owned the property for a short period, typically 2-3 years or less”.
Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson says the "abundance of listings on the market means buyers have the upper hand". Photo / Peter Meecham
However, he does note that “the vast bulk of property resellers (more than nine in every 10) still tend to make a gross profit, and the profits remain sizeable”.
According to the report, the nationwide median resale profit for those properties sold in Q1 2025 was $280,000. Auckland’s median gain was quite a bit higher at $356,000, but it wasn’t the country’s highest. Sellers in Queenstown-Lakes scored the big bucks, with a median profit of $496,000, although they also suffered the biggest median loss, at $104,700.
Who’s winning, who’s losing?
A quick look at the biggest individual profits and losses rams home the point about hold periods. Four of five properties suffering the most resale pain – between $550,000 and $600,000 – were bought at the end of the post-Covid boom, when prices were around 12% higher than they are now. The five properties that made the most money had been owned between 12 and 30 years.
The biggest house resale profit was $5.375m for a 1920s-character home on a 1356sqm site on Maungakiekie Avenue, in Auckland’s Greenlane. The five-bedroom house, which backs onto Cornwall Park, came with a swimming pool and tennis court and had been redesigned by legendary Auckland architect Terry Hitchcock at some point in its history. The vendors bought it in 1994 for $1.225m and sold it in March for $6.6m through Ray White Mount Eden agent Dean Tuffley.
They talked to OneRoof in January when their home first hit the market and estimated they had played around 6000 games on the tennis court during their 30 years at the property. Tuffley said there was always huge interest when homes on Maungakiekie Avenue came up for sale. “These freehold parkside homes rarely hit the market.” Tuffley made headlines last year when he sold another estate on the street for $8.38m. The gross profit on that sale was lower but still eye-watering at $2.38m.
The second biggest gross profit so far this year was $4.573m for a Remuera home owned by Working Style boss Chris Dobbs.
A five-bedroom home backing onto Auckland’s Cornwall Park sold for $6.6m in March. The vendors had owned the home for over 30 years and made a gross profit of $5.375m. Photo / Supplied
House price winner: Working Style founder Chris Dobbs. Photo / Supplied
Dobbs bought the Martin Avenue property for just over $1.9m in 2006 and sold it 18 years later for $6.475m in an off-market deal brokered by Ray White Remuera agent Harry Champtaloup. Champtaloup declined to talk about the vendor but did tell OneRoof reporter Catherine Smith he had been working with the buyer for some time.
“The home’s north-facing position overlooking the Orākei Basin played a big part in the result,” he said. “Properties like this are incredibly rare, and when they do come up – even quietly – they attract strong interest and deserve a premium.”
Champtaloup told OneRoof that he is working with several cash-ready buyers looking for homes in Remuera, especially in the $4m to $7m range, but there was a lack of quality stock in that bracket. “Right now, there are about 30 properties over $5m listed in the Remuera area, and some have been on the market for some time.”
- Owen Vaughan is editor of OneRoof.co.nz. You can contact him with any property tips or story ideas at owen.vaughan@nzme.co.nz
