The heat appears to be slowly coming out of the housing market following a number of policy changes aimed at slowing rapid growth.
The total value of all residential property in New Zealand surpassed $1.5 trillion for the first time (file image). Photo: RNZ / Maree Mahony
The CoreLogic House Price Index (HPI) shows nationwide values rose 1.8 percent in June, which was a slight reduction on the 2.2 percent growth in May.
National average property values increased nearly 23 percent in the 12 months to June, taking the average to more than $900,000.
The total value of all residential property in New Zealand surpassed $1.5 trillion for the first time.
"These milestones will not necessarily be welcomed by all, especially hopeful first home buyers," CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall said. "However the tentative signs of change may provide some hope for would-be home buyers as well as the government, who are under pressure to tilt the market in favour of new market entrants.
"On that note, the recent agreement to add debt-to-income (DTI) controls to the Reserve Bank's macro-prudential toolkit adds another element of uncertainty for the market."
Adding the restrictions would further limit the activity of investors, Goodall said.
However, a cooling market may mean the Reserve Bank would not need to impose DTI restrictions, he said.
On the other hand, rising inflation and impending increases to interest rates would weigh on the market.
"It's also worth noting that average New Zealand household mortgages are at record levels and even a small increase in mortgage rates could have a significant impact."
Meanwhile, property values had continued to grow in all of the main centres, although growth was slowing in 12 of the 18 largest markets, with three markets recording a drop in values over the month.
Gisborne saw a 0.9 percent drop in values in June, following a 35 percent increase over the past 12 months. New Plymouth's property values dropped 0.3 percent and Napier fell 0.1 percent.
At the other end of the spectrum, Nelson and Invercargill saw increases in their monthly rate of growth at 2.1 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.
And latest data from realestate.co.nz indicated the national average asking price was up 20 percent on last year, with one third fewer properties available to buy.