Southland Bucks The National Price Slide
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Southland's property market is bucking the national trend — asking prices hit a record high for September while stock tightened and new listings fell sharply.
New data from realestate.co.nz for September 2026 shows Southland's average asking price climbed 5.9% to $593,723, making it one of only four regions in the country to record a record-high average asking price for the month. Canterbury, Central Otago/Lakes District and the West Coast were the others.
The strength here stands out against a backdrop of declining or flat prices almost everywhere else. The national average asking price barely moved — down just 0.2% year-on-year to $855,245. Auckland's average asking price fell to $993,562, dropping below $1 million for the first time in six years and sitting more than a quarter of a million dollars below its January 2022 peak of $1,274,829.
Vanessa Williams, GM of Customer for realestate.co.nz, says the Auckland milestone matters. "For a long time, a million-dollar average asking price felt almost synonymous with Auckland, so dropping back below that level is notable. But it also creates opportunity, particularly for buyers who've been waiting on the sidelines. The combination of almost 14,000 properties on the market and asking prices well below their peak has created one of the most buyer-friendly markets the city has seen in years."
For Southland sellers, the picture is different. New listings in the region fell 21.15% year-on-year — the steepest decline of any region in the country. Total stock dropped 8.5% to just 391 properties, making Southland the only region in New Zealand to record less stock on the market than a year ago. Fewer listings coming on, fewer homes sitting unsold: for vendors who are in the market, conditions are working in their favour.
On the ground, local award-winning mortgage adviser Mandy Jordan says what she's seeing matches the numbers exactly. "We have a record number of pre-approvals, multi-offers on properties and good properties aren't staying on the market for long. If clients aren't pre-approved, they are on the back foot and unfortunately missing out." Jordan says buyers shouldn't overlook the lending side either. "We also have awesome lender offers with differences between most lenders. Get pre-approved and ensure you're working with the best bank for your circumstances to get the best deal." Mandy and her team offer free appointments and often no cost for bank-settled lending.
Nationally, new listings crept up just 0.8% year-on-year to 9,466 — a modest rise, but enough to show sellers aren't being put off by the upcoming election. Williams says that tells its own story. "Although many of our regions have seen a fall in new listings, we actually have more coming on the market than last September, and that wasn't an election year. Prices nationally remain stable and stock is high which offers a window of opportunity for buyers. New Zealanders thinking of making a move would do well to take advantage of the market before the summer rush begins."
Total national stock rose 10.7% year-on-year to 34,001 properties. Seven regions recorded double-digit growth. Gisborne led with stock up 62.7%; Southland sat alone at the other end, the only region to go backwards.
BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones says the September data reinforces trends already well in motion. "Solid growth in new listings continues even as growth in monthly sales turnover has slowed. Consequently, the stock of unsold inventory on the market continues to gradually increase. Ample supply means prospective buyers have more choice and time, and there is little to no pressure on house prices to rise."
That's the national story. In Southland, supply constraints and rising asking prices point in the opposite direction. Williams has a message for sellers here too, even in a tighter market. "Sellers need to compete for buyer attention in this market, and that's when good presentation, strong marketing, and realistic pricing comes to the fore. They all matter even more when buyers have options."
Elsewhere in the South Island, Canterbury's average asking price rose 1.3% year-on-year to $736,585, and Central Otago/Lakes hit $1,586,916, up 4.6%. The West Coast edged up 0.8% to $514,013.
The realestate.co.nz data uses average asking price — not sale price — as an indicator of market sentiment. The figures are calculated using a truncated mean, removing the top and bottom 10% of listings to avoid distortion from exceptional properties.