There was a big decline in the volume of homes sold in April, with median prices also falling in most parts of the country, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

The REINZ recorded 5845 residential property sales in April, down 32% compared to March and down 31% compared to April last year.

Median prices fell in 11 of the REINZ's 16 regions around the country. The biggest fall was in Auckland, where the median dropped $50,500, or 5.6%, from the record high of $905,000 achieved in March to $854,500 in April. But it remained up by 3% compared to April last year.

Big fall on the North Shore

Within the Auckland region the biggest drop in the median price occurred on the North Shore where it fell by a staggering $115,000, dropping from $1,080,000 in March to $965,000 in April, which means it is also well down compared to the median of $1,050,000 in April last year.

After the North Shore the biggest falls occurred in the central suburbs that were previously within the boundaries of the former Auckland City Council. Median prices of homes sold in these suburbs in April dropped by $90,000, falling from $1,050,000 in March to $960,000 in April.

In Manukau the median dropped from $895,000 in March to $830,000 in April, in Waitakere it fell from $785,000 in March to $758,000 in April, and in Rodney it dropped from $867,000 in March to $835,000 in April.

However median prices rose on Auckland's southern fringe, with the median in Papakura rising from $660,000 in March to $680,000 in April, and in Franklin it increased from $610,000 to $670,000.

April's median prices also dropped back in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu/Whanganui, Taranaki, Tasman, Nelson, West Coast, Canterbury and Southland, compared to March.

But median prices set record highs in each of the five areas where they were up in April compared to March: Waikato ($489,200), Gisborne ($289,000), Wellington ($537,000), Marlborough ($400,000) and Otago ($381,000).

Kapiti the outlier in the Wellington region

In the Wellington region median prices rose in all districts except Kapiti.

In Wellington City the median increased from $661,000 in March to $685,000 in April, in Lower Hutt it rose from $470,000 to $487,000, in Upper Hutt it was up from $426,000 in March to $448,000 in April, and in Porirua it rose from $546,600 in March to $570,000 in April.

In Kapiti it dropped from $492,000 in March to $481,657 in April.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said the market was reasonably stable in April, despite factors such as severe weather and Easter being in April this year rather than March.

However the Auckland market appears to be more adversely affected than other parts of the country.

Just 1775 homes were sold in Auckland in April, compared to 2655 in March.

It was the lowest number of Auckland sales in the month of April since 2010.

The total number of homes available for sale continues to increase in Auckland but is falling in the rest of the country.

In Auckland the total number of homes available for sale in April was up 39% compared to April last year, while inventory declined in Waikato (-12%), Wellington (-13.2%) and Canterbury (-3.2%).

The REINZ's full regional report for April is available by clicking on the following link:

Monthly Property Report - April datal.pdf