Auckland's house prices have dropped compared to the year before for the first time in six years.

Auckland's house prices have dropped compared to the year before for the first time in six years.

Quotable Value's latest statistics show that nationwide, house prices were up 3.9 per cent over the past year. But in Auckland they dropped 0.6 per cent.

Spokeswoman Andrea Rush said QV had seen the rate of value growth slowing through 2017, but this was the first time values were less than they had been in the same month the year before.

SIMON MAUDE/STUFF Auckland's prices are stabilising near historic highs, one economist says.

Developers who needed to sell sections and houses in larger-scale greenfield developments were finding they had to drop their prices. In Flat Bush, prices for vacant fully-serviced sections had been in the high-$700,000s last year but were now in the $600,000s.

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Hamilton's values were up 1.1 per cent over the year, Christchurch dropped 1.6 per cent year-on-year and Wellington was up 10 per cent.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF/FILE PIC Wellington values rose 10 per cent over the year.

Rush said it was possible the slowdown would continue through the end of the year. "We're starting to see new government policies coming on stream. What we are noting is that listing numbers are very low and sales volume is well down on this time last year and even lower than during October 2015."

She said a lot of people who did not have to sell were choosing instead to hold on to their properties.

"Interest rates are low and set to remain so, so there is no pressure to need to sell.

Andrea Rush, QV spokeswoman, said softer values could continue.

"That frenzy, fear of missing out, has gone."

Rush said conditions had improved for first-home buyers. While they had less stock to choose from, there were fewer investors competing for properties.

"There still remains strong demand for entry-level property from first-home buyers."

CoreLogic data shows an increase in the percentage of sales going to first-home buyers across the country.

Fewer properties were selling at auction and more had asking prices. There was more time for buyers to carry out due diligence or get valuations and building inspections.

"The retail banks are stricter in their lending criteria and it can be harder to get the money. But at least [first-home buyers] are not up against investors who had an easier time gaining finance previously," Rush said.

Forecasters at Infometrics said the drop in Auckland could be seen as a precursor of falls throughout the rest of the country over the next three years.

"Momentum is dwindling almost across the board. Outside of the main centres there are still some pocket of solid growth, but we don't see a rebound in prices over the coming year."

ASB economist Kim Mundy said the price fall was not a concern. "In the context of the price growth over the past couple of years the falls we have seen are very small."

She said it seemed that prices were consolidating close to historic peaks.

While the outlook for the immediate future was murky, she said she expected prices to pick up again before long.

The fundamentals that had driven price rises, such as the shortage of supply and low interest rates, were still there.

"The long-term story still points to house price growth, although perhaps not as fast as it has been."

Broker John Bolton, of Squirrel Mortgages, said the statistics were just reflecting a market trend that had begun a year ago.

"It's good that the market has settled down. Where's the bad news in that? Yes, prices will be soft for a while but there's nothing out there that says the world is coming to an end."

Prices were particularly soft on the city fringes, he said, and areas where speculators had been driving the market.

"But in other parts there's still a real supply imbalance."