by Paul McBeth
While it's easy to focus on depressed house sales - down in April to their third lowest monthly figure in the last decade - that's only part of the picture.
The latest research report from real estate firm Bayleys looks at other trends in the market, including:
If looking at current house price trends is getting you down, scope back over the past decade. The report says that house prices in the main centres grew by 65 per cent in the 1990s and 64 per cent in smaller centres.
Five areas had sale price growth above 70 per cent over the decade: the Far North (71.5 per cent), Waitakere (70.7 per cent). Auckland City (78 per cent), Thames/Coromandel (86.9 per cent) and Hastings (73.9 per cent).
Meanwhile, mortgage bankers Cairns Lockie says it's not all bad news on the housing market as home renovators are still hard at work. Permit applications for renovations for the three months to March were ten per cent up on the same time last year at $140 million. Cairns Lockie says the real figure is even higher, with many home renovations such as painting not requiring a permit.