New Zealand house prices & rents
Housing is the biggest cost in most New Zealand households' budgets. This page tracks prices and rents against incomes: the gap between them is the story of the last decade.
Median house price divided by median annual household income, as they stood in 2026. A ratio above 5 is conventionally considered severely unaffordable.
+26.6% since the start of 2020.
The cost of servicing a mortgage
The 2-year fixed mortgage rate: the single biggest driver of monthly repayments for new borrowers.
Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)The Real Economy (opens the full chart page)
Today's estimate: $3,531 per month on 80% of the current median price at the latest 2-year fixed rate (30-year table loan).
What this means
- House prices and rents are related but not the same market. Prices respond quickly to interest rates and credit conditions; rents adjust more slowly, tied to incomes and vacancy rates.
- The price-to-income ratio is the simplest affordability measure, but it ignores interest rates. Servicing costs can fall even while the ratio stays high if mortgage rates drop. The mortgage calculator shows what a loan costs at today's rates.
- Median figures can be skewed by the mix of properties sold or rented in a period. They are a guide to the market, not a valuation of any individual home.
Median house price, median weekly rent, the 2-year fixed mortgage rate and median household income are all live now, sourced from MCERT, MBIE, RBNZ and Stats NZ respectively.