13/05/2026
Data released today in the New Zealand Property Report for April 2026 shows that national sales fell 7.9% year-on-year, yet the total of 6,262 represents a genuine, if modest, decline – with both April 2025 and April 2026 sitting close to the historical midpoint of every April since REINZ began tracking this data in 1992. April 2025 ranked 15th of 35 in that dataset; April 2026 ranks 18th.
April 2026 marks the first clear sign that the combined weight of cost-of-living pressures – higher fuel costs, food prices, insurance, and local body rates – began influencing buyer decisions in a meaningful way. The impact was not uniform, however. Regions with higher vehicle dependency and lower median household incomes, including Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Whanganui, and Marlborough, saw the largest softening in activity, consistent with pump prices hitting household budgets most directly in those areas. Canterbury, Southland, and Otago continued to record solid sales activity, though this reflects the relative strength of their local market fundamentals rather than any insulation from cost pressures.
Read the full report: https://bit.ly/4dpw2jM
