Quotable Value (QV) says housing values continued to soften over winter with the market remaining firmly in buyers' favour.
According to the QV House Price Index, the national average residential property value declined by 1.9% to $894,977 over the three months to the end of August.
That was the largest quarterly decline in two years. It means the average dwelling value is now 1.7% lower than it was at the start of the year, and 1.3% lower than August last year.
According to the Index, average values declined in all major urban areas over the three months to August except Queenstown, up 1% and Invercargill and Timaru, both up 0.1%.
The biggest decline in value in the main urban districts was in Gisborne -5.0%, followed by Greymouth -3.7%, Wellington City -3.5%, Hastings -2.9% and Auckland -2.7%.
QV Spokesperson Simon Petersen said the latest figures show buyers remain firmly in control as the market heads into spring.
"Buyers have plenty of choice," he said.
"They're taking their sweet time, they're negotiating hard and they're prepared to walk away if the numbers don't stack up. That's putting downward pressure on property values," Petersen said.
However, Petersen said it was a slow decline.
"It's more a slow deterioration rather than a sudden correction," he said.
"The market has been flat to gently falling for some time, and those smaller movements are now starting to add up in some parts of the country," Petersen said.
The tables below show the main value changes around the country.
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QV House Price Index - Auckland Region - August 2026
QV H0use Price Index - Wellington Region - August 2026
QV House Price Index - Canterbury - August 2026
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