Auckland's skyrocketing property prices may have finally started to put buyers off as interest turns to other regions, a real estate industry website says.
New data from realestate.co.nz has found while the average asking price for homes listed in Auckland climbed to another record of nearly $890,000 in June, searches for properties sales had fallen.
"It could be a turning point for Auckland, with prices now at an all-time high they're almost out of reach for the average income earner," CEO Brendon Skipper said.
He said searches for Auckland houses selling on the listing site were down more than 19 per cent compared to the same time last year while engagement fell more than a third across the region.
"Nationally, the volume of traffic to our site is comparable across the country for this time of year, but it appears buyers are moving away from looking in the Auckland area in favour of other regions," he said.
Mr Skipper said potential buyers were increasingly looking at Northland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Queenstown.
"It appears Aucklanders still want to stay in relatively close proximity to our biggest city, but in terms of affordability they are forced to move even further afield, or they are making lifestyle changes."
Auckland rents were now at the "bottom of the ladder" relative to mortgage sizes when compared to the other 18 regions and showed investors were relying to capital gains, Mr Skipper said.
