The housing market is continuing to crawl along in low gear with the number of properties sold hitting a five year low in June.

According to the REINZ there were 5978 homes sold throughout the country in June, down 3.8% compared to June last year and the lowest number of sales in the month of June for five years.

In Auckland, the country's largest real estate market, June sales were down 3.2% compared to a year ago and were at their lowest level for the month of June since 2010.

In the rest of the country (excluding Auckland), sales were down 4% on June last year.

Some of the biggest falls in sales volumes were in the central North Island with sales in Hawkes Bay down 26.8% on a year ago and a four year low, while sales in Taranaki were down 24.9% which was a five year low.

In the Wellington region sales were down 3.3% on a year ago and in Canterbury they were up 2.1% (see the chart below for the full regional trends).

However while sales volumes were sluggish, median prices remained relatively firm.

The national median selling price was $585,000, up slightly from $578,000 in May and equalling the record price set in March.

In Auckland the median price continued on the steady course that has been evident for the last three years and at $850,000 was unchanged from a year ago.

However REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said price movements varied widely within the Auckland region.

In the Waitemata and Gulf ward which includes some of the city's most expensive suburbs, the median price was up 16.3% compared to June last year while the median price in the Orakei ward was down 11.9% annually.

Record median prices were set in Manawatu/Whanganui ($370,000) and Tasman ($642,000) in June.

Across the entire country the median price edged higher in June compared to May in seven regions, declined in seven and was unchanged in two, suggesting a reasonably steady price trend.

In the Wellington region the median price dropped from $618,000 in May to $609,480 in June and in Canterbury it was unchanged at $445,000 (see the interactive chart below for the full regional median price trends).

The REINZ's House Price Index shows that across the entire country, selling prices are up 1.7% compared to 12 months ago.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it is also taking longer for homes to sell .

In June the median number of days it took to sell a home (nationally) was 41 compared to 38 a year ago.

In Auckland that number has increased from 40 to 45 over the last year (see the chart below for the regional trends).

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Median price - REINZ Select chart tabs » NZ total Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Manawatu Taranaki Wellington Tasman Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland The 'NZ total' chart will be drawn here.

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