Falling prices fuel busiest February in half decade
Auckland’s housing market saw a sharp lift in activity in February 2026, with Barfoot & Thompson reporting its busiest February for sales in five years as softer prices drew buyers back in.
“In February, sales numbers at 785 were excellent, and we sold the highest number of homes in a February for five years,” said Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson. “February’s high activity follows on from that in January, and in the first two months of the year we have sold 1,609 homes, 16% more than at the same time last year.”
Thompson noted that only 2021 has recorded more sales in the first two months of a calendar year in the past decade.
The lift in Auckland activity comes against a softer national backdrop. New Zealand’s housing market has stumbled into 2026, with ANZ’s house price inflation forecast for this year cut from 5% to 2% after the REINZ index edged down in January and sales volumes fell.
Lower prices entice previously priced-out buyers
Within that wider slowdown, Thompson says Auckland’s current price points are pulling sidelined buyers back in.
“The attraction that is drawing buyers is current price levels, with the median sales price in February at $904,000, down 9.6% on that for January, and the average price at $1,013,976, down 13.3%,” he said. “These are among the lowest monthly median and average sales prices seen in Auckland since prices peaked in 2022.”
Thompson linked the shift to broader market dynamics flagged by the central bank.
“The combination of high sales and low prices is part of the ‘structural change’ the Reserve Bank commented on when announcing the OCR would remain at 2.25% in late February,” he said. “Effectively, housing supply is starting to meet housing demand, and the prices are drawing in buyers who once felt priced out of the market.”
Listings climb as first-home segment strengthens
Stock levels are also building, giving buyers more choice. Barfoot & Thompson listed 2,252 new properties in February and ended the month with 6,159 homes on its books – the highest number of listings at this time of year in 15 years.
“While the combination of good choice, stable prices, and high sales numbers is drawing strong buyer interest, for the first time in many years this is not putting pressure on prices,” Thompson said.
First-home buyers remain active, with 31% of February sales in the sub‑$750,000 bracket, the price band the agency describes as “most attractive to first-time buyers”. At the top end, sales above $2 million made up 4% of transactions, a level Thompson said is typical for the post-holiday period.
In the rural and leisure markets of Northland and greater Auckland, Barfoot & Thompson recorded close to $37 million in February sales, taking year-to-date turnover in those sectors to $100 million, 15.5% higher than the same period last year.
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