The national average asking price for property in New Zealand remained nearly flat in May, down just 0.2% year over year to NZ$862,518, realestate.co.nz said in a Wednesday report.
The Central Otago/Lakes District set a new 18-year average asking price record of NZ$1.7 million, an over 20% increase from May 2025.
The surge in prices was driven primarily by the Queenstown and Wanaka districts, where average asking prices reached NZ$2 million and NZ$1.7 million, respectively, in May.
"Lifestyle, landscape, and liveability have become serious price drivers," realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams noted.
Taranaki recorded the greatest decline in the average asking price, dropping 9.7% year over year to NZ$678,359.
New Zealand saw 9,521 new listings nationally in the month, a 0.3% annual increase and the highest level for May since 2018, while stock levels rose 5% to 36,130 from 34,415 in May 2025.
Coromandel saw a more than 48% annual increase in new listings, while Wairarapa saw new listings fall past 11% over the same period, per the report.