House prices are still rising but the number of sales are down in many regions.
Photo: RNZ
The Real Estate Institute's house price index rose 0.7 percent in March over February, with the annual rate rising 4.2 percent.
The national median price rose $10,000 over the past year to a record $560,000, helped by record prices in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Wellington.
Institute chief executive Bindi Norwell said house prices rose everywhere but Northland, Auckland and Taranaki.
"This is the third month in a row now that the Hawke's Bay has seen a record median price for the region.
"This increase has been driven by a high level of demand across the region," she said.
But the total number of sales fell 10 percent, with a large 12 percent drop in Auckland, offsetting strong gains in West Coast, Gisborne, Nelson, Taranaki and Marlborough.
"Again, we've seen a number of the regions post stronger results than some of the major centres, highlighting the buoyant economies in these areas," she said.
The regions with the largest fall in sales volumes are Otago, Wellington, and Manawatu-Whanganui.