HOUSING CRISIS: Average asking price for New Zealand houses HITS $1m

The national average asking price for a home in January means house prices have more than doubled over the past 10 years to more than $1 million.

The national average asking price rose 1.4 percent in January over December to just over $1 million on realestate.co.nz.

Gisborne’s asking prices rose 20 percent while Central Otago/Lakes District dropped 8.1 percent.

The number of houses available for sale was up 28.5 percent on the year earlier, with a year-on-year increase of about 4500 homes.

However, January listings on realestate.co.nz were down 1.7 percent year-on-year, reflecting a slowdown in the number of sales.