Cotality Says Housing Values Are Still Sliding As Auction Sales Reach 42 Percent

New Zealand's housing market is still giving buyers the stronger hand, with interest.co.nz's latest property page reporting a 42 percent sales rate at recent residential auctions and highlighting Cotality's view that housing values are still sliding lower. The same property feed said house buyers hold the balance of power when it comes to pricing.

That combination matters because auction clearance is one of the quickest visible signals of buyer appetite. A 42 percent sales rate does not mean the market is frozen, but it does show that many vendors are not meeting the price level buyers are prepared to accept. In a hot market, auctions can create urgency. In a cautious market, they can expose the gap between vendor expectations and current demand.

Cotality's June housing chart pack adds useful context. It said first-home buyers were dominating a subdued market, with their share rising to 27.7 percent of purchases and first-home buyer activity growing even as overall sales were softer. That tells a more nuanced story than a simple downturn. Some buyers are active, but they are not bidding with the same fear of missing out that shaped the peak years.

First-home buyers can benefit from lower prices and less competition, but they still face hard constraints. Banks test income carefully, deposits take time to build, insurance costs have risen, and households are still managing everyday living costs. A lower asking price is useful only if repayments, rates and maintenance can be carried without turning the first year of ownership into financial stress.

Sellers face the opposite discipline. The longer a downturn lasts, the less useful peak-era comparisons become. A vendor who anchors to a 2021 or 2022 number may be asking the market to pay for a moment that no longer exists. Current comparable sales, property condition and local supply matter more than old online estimates.

Investors are likely to remain selective too. If capital gains look uncertain, rental yield and cash flow need to do more work. That can favour well-located homes with reliable tenant demand, but it can also leave marginal purchases exposed. Rates, insurance, compliance and repair bills are all part of the real return, not footnotes.

The regional spread should not be overlooked. National commentary can make the market sound uniform, but buyers do not purchase the national median. They purchase a street, a school zone, a commute, a building type and a risk profile. Some suburbs may still attract competition because supply is tight or the property is unusually strong. Others will sit longer because buyers have alternatives.

For policymakers, the data is a reminder that affordability is not solved by falling values alone. If prices soften while incomes lag, costs rise and credit stays tight, ownership remains difficult. A healthier market would be one where buyers can negotiate without panic, sellers can transact without denial, and new supply is delivered where people actually need to live.

The latest signals point to a market still adjusting rather than one clearly rebounding. A 42 percent auction sales rate, sliding values and elevated first-home buyer share all point in the same direction: buyers are present, but they are more patient, more price-sensitive and less willing to rescue unrealistic expectations.