Property sales had their biggest rise in sales volumes in 19 months in January.
The Real Estate Institute's house price index rose 0.1 percent in January over December, and 3.4 percent over the same time last year.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The number of properties sold during January rose 2.7 percent over the year earlier, with a 0.9 percent increase in Auckland.
The national median price rose a seasonally adjusted 7 percent to $520,000 - a rise of $34,500 over 2017.
The volume of sales rose strongly in a number of regions, particularly Nelson, Canterbury, Tasman and Gisborne.
Institute chief executive Bindi Norwell said the warmer weather had helped sales, with 11 out of 16 regions seeing an increase in sales volumes.
"January can often be a quiet month for the industry as people spend much of their time at the beach or the bach," she said.
"However, clearly the warmer weather has helped sales, as it's the first time we've seen a positive year-on-year sales increase in seven months."