SELL IN SPRING FOR HIGHER PRICES, WINTER FOR FASTER SALE
When you are selling a house, your success often seems to come down to a bit of luck.
The right buyer finds your open home, and - if you're really fortunate - gets into a bit of competitive bidding with another keen purchaser to push up the price.
But when the market is not so hot, that luck can feel harder to find. The latest Real Estate Institute figures show the number of sales in September was down by a quarter, year-on-year.
Market commentators say timing your sale right can help. Kim Sinclair, of Crockers Research Hub, said data showed a connection between migration flows and house price movements.
New Zealand's net migration has been running at a record rate as more people move here and fewer leave. This is one of the factors credited with driving strong house price growth over the past five years. But Sinclair said there was a clear pattern of migration dips between March and May each year, and again in November. That seemed to correlate with dips in sales prices, too.
Sinclair said it made sense that an influx of new arrivals looking for a home would have an effect on the housing market. "This suggests that selling property may not be recommended during those periods as demand may be lower and, conversely, these periods could be good times to buy." Nigel Jeffries, head of Trade Me Property, said winter was the best time of year for sellers who wanted a quick sale. His site's data showed that between June and August, houses spent less time on the market. Last year, properties in Wellington and Christchurch sold faster in winter than in any other season, spending an average of 24 and 38 days on the market, respectively.
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
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42.9% I avoid spending money on coffee
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47.1% I still indulge at my local cafe
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10% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
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