Nine in 10 New Zealand property sellers made a profit from transactions in the first quarter of this year.

Sales data in the latest Cotality Pain and Gain Report shows New Zealand’s residential property market remained largely steady and generous in the March quarter, with the average seller enjoying gains of almost $300,000.

The percentage of owners who made a gross profit from property sales in the quarter stayed high at 90.8%, down slightly from 91.1% in the previous quarter, despite national median house prices sitting about 16% below their early 2022 peak.

In the first quarter of this year the median gross profit on resales was $280,000, down from $298,000 in Q4 2024, but still well above levels seen prior to the pandemic.

In contrast, the median resale loss decreased slightly to $50,000, but staying in the $50,000–$60,000 range for the third successive year.

Kelvin Davidson, Chief Property Economist for Cotality NZ said longer property holding periods remained key to owners generating positive investment returns.

A typical property resold for a profit in the first quarter of 2025 had been owned for 9.1 years. This was unchanged from the prior quarter and underscored how time in the market generally shielded owners from volatility. In contrast a property holding period of 2-3 years was more typically associated with losses, Davidson said.

Meanwhile ANZ has added its voice to industry leaders seeing signs of a steady recovery in the housing market. In the bank’s latest property insights, it noted house prices had increased modestly in each of the last five months.

Despite stock levels at around decade highs and a soft labour market there were signs that house prices may begin to accelerate later in the year once the excess inventory was worked through and the impact of lower interest rates filtered through the market. “Our expectation is that house prices will start to lift more meaningfully over the second half of the year and end the year up 4.5%,” the bank said.

James Shepherd, Supervision and Compliance Manager, Raine & Horne said the high proportion of property resellers making significant gains showed time in the market rather than trying to time the market was generally the key to investment success.

Whether you want to buy, sell or rent a property, don’t hesitate to contact your local Raine & Horne office.