It’s a home buyers’ bonanza but a grim time for sellers with house prices falling in almost every region and taking an especially big tumble in Auckland.

New Real Estate Institute data showed sales plummeted 39 per cent year-on-year, and Auckland house prices fell 18 per cent to a median $1.05 million.

The median sale price has decreased nationally over the year by 12.2 per cent to $790,000.

But REINZ Chief Executive Jen Baird said the pace of the decline was slowing and the market had settled at its new pace.

“With interest rates rising and banks stress testing at 8.1-8.5 per cent, buyers’ ability to secure finance and service a mortgage remains a key driver to buyers taking their time.”

It was now taking a median 40 days to sell homes, compared to just 29 in December 2021.

Regional median house prices decreased nationwide except for Northland, which had an increase of 3.3 per cent, and Taranaki, up 5.1 per cent from a year before.

The median price in Wellington last month was $790,000, down 20.2 per cent.

And the Canterbury median price was $655,000, with a smaller year-on-year decline of 3.7 per cent.

REINZ statistics for last month showed only 1,327 houses were sold in Auckland, down 45.1 per cent from December 2021.

“We usually see a slowing of activity as we head into the festive season, and we are comparing this December to one that was right at the peak of the pandemic market,” Baird added.

“Buyer caution is evident in the drop in count of sales, down 23.6 per cent month-on-month and down 39 per cent annually from December 2021.”

She said comparing this activity to the long-term trend, the current market was weak.

“This is leaving a lot of choice for buyers with a 55.3 per cent increase in inventory, now sitting at 26,057 properties.”

Baird said for some buyers, now is a great time to be in the market.

“If you can make the finances work, this is a good time to be a buyer. More stock, less competition and prices continuing to ease, will allow those who can get all the ducks in a row to buy well.”