Auckland's rampant property market appears to be coming off the boil as house hunters seek more affordable homes further afield.
House price rises in Auckland have outpaced the rest of the country. Photo: 123RF
The latest figures from Realestate.co.nz showed demand in Auckland was cooling, with 14 percent fewer new listings and 10 percent fewer website viewings in July compared to a year ago.
The average asking price in Auckland hit a fresh high of $898,562 in July, an increase of 1.1 percent on the previous month.
But the Auckland market could be hitting a turning point as buyers were increasingly unwilling, or unable, to pay such high prices, said Realestate.co.nz head of marketing Vanessa Taylor.
"I honestly believe that we've just got property fatigue. We've seen the continuing increase in prices in Auckland which is pushing the bottom end of the market out, the first home buyers and the first time investors and we're seeing them move to the other areas in New Zealand."
The national asking price fell by almost $7000 in July, but demand rose 14.48 percent compared to a year ago with Waikato, Wellington, Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago all experiencing strong growth.
Website viewings for properties in Canterbury and Central Lakes/Otago rose 11 percent in the last year, Marlborough 19 percent and Wellington 22 percent.