House prices are on the rise again with record increases in 10 regions, but with fewer sales overall.
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The Real Estate Institute's house price index - which measures the changing value of property in the market - rose 5.6 percent in the year to November.
Sales volumes were down 1.9 percent with a lack of listings and because vendors were holding out for better prices.
"We're beginning to hear anecdotal evidence from agents around the country that with the ongoing lack of listings, which has led to rising median prices, that we're now starting to see the gap widening between vendor expectations and what purchasers are willing to pay for a property in some parts of the country," said Institute chief executive Bindi Norwell.
The national median price was up 8.6 percent or by $50,000 to $630,000, or up 10.3 percent when the Auckland region is excluded.
Ms Norwell said November had been the strongest month in 14 years, with 10 regions fetching record prices.
In addition, 24 territorial authorities around the country had record median prices including Whangārei District, Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Kāpiti Coast District, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill, she said.
Auckland's 2.9 percent increase drove the region's median to $885,000 - a level not seen for 32 months.
The only regions with a drop in the median price were Northland and Tasman, while prices in Manawatū-Wanganui were steady.