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Property Market – House price downturn fuels first home buyer momentum – Cotality

Source: Cotality

Property sales volumes fell for only the second time in 28 months in August, dropping by 5.2% compared to the same period a year ago, according to Cotality NZ’s Monthly Housing Chart Pack. (ref. https://www.cotality.com/nz/resources/downloads/monthly-housing-chart-pack )

It reveals that while the market is treading water, softening prices and improved affordability are creating valuable opportunities, particularly for first home buyers.

The Cotality Home Value Index recorded a further drop of -0.2% in August, marking the fifth consecutive monthly fall. While this may signal ongoing weakness, it also means a given deposit can stretch further for prospective buyers.

“The recent property value downturn, while a reminder of market caution, is creating a more favourable landscape for buyers,” said Kelvin Davidson, Chief Property Economist for Cotality NZ.

“We're seeing a clear shift in market composition, with first home buyers in their strongest position in two decades.”

First home buyers accounted for 27.5% of purchases over July and August combined, a testament to their resilience in the current climate.

Mortgaged multiple property owners also remained active, making up 24.6% of the market during the same period. Meanwhile, movers were quieter than usual.

A key factor in this trend is improved affordability.

Low-deposit lending to all owner-occupiers remained subdued at just 12.9% in July, well below the 20% allowance. This indicates that with house prices softening, a larger number of buyers are able to enter the market with a more substantial deposit, reducing their reliance on high-LVR loans.

“What might be discouraging for some property owners is beneficial for those on the other side of the coin,” Davidson added.

“With affordability better, listings starting to fall, and more existing borrowers repricing loans down to market interest rates, 2026 may look stronger for both property sales volumes and values.”

“The market is largely tracking sideways for now, but there are clear signs that momentum could build into next year.”

Highlights from the September 2025 Housing Chart Pack include:

  • New Zealand’s residential real estate market is worth a combined $1.65 trillion.
  • The Cotality Home Value Index shows property values across New Zealand edged down by -0.2% in August. This was the fifth modest fall in a row.
  • The total sales count over the 12 months to August is 87,875.
  • There are around 26,100 total listings on the market. The total number of properties listed on the market remains elevated, but a slow rise in sales volumes is gradually eroding stock levels.
  • The pace of rental growth remains weak, with net migration having fallen a long way from its peak, and the stock of available rental listings on the market still elevated.
  • Buyer Classification data shows first home buyers made up more than 27% of purchases over July and August combined, while smaller investors (‘Mums and Dads’) are having a comeback, targeting cheaper, existing dwellings.
  • Mortgage lending activity continues to rise, with bank switching still popular as more borrowers roll off a series of short-term fixed loans.
  • Gross rental yields now stand at 3.8%, which is the highest level since mid-2016.
  • Inflation is back in the 1–3% target range and the economy is subdued. The Reserve Bank looks set to cut the official cash rate again in the coming months, possibly reaching 2.5% by year-end.
  • The Chart of the Month for September highlights a controlled share of mortgage lending being done at a low deposit or high loan to value ratio. The falls in house prices mean that a given dollar deposit goes further, and reduces the need for higher LVR lending.
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Gross domestic product: June 2025 quarter – update


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Quarterly current account deficit $3.4 billion – Balance of payments and international investment position: June 2025 quarter – Stats NZ news story and information release


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Balance of payments and international investment position: June 2025 quarter – update


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Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity – NZCTU

Source: NZCTU

This Saturday 20 September, 132 years after women secured the right to vote, thousands of women and allies across the country are taking to the streets to rise up against the Government’s gutting of the pay equity system.

Unions, women’s organisations, and community groups have come together to organise the Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity, a nationwide celebration of working women whose rights are under attack.

More than 20 events are being held from Whāngarei to Invercargill including marches, rallies, family friendly events, and community gatherings.

“132 years after women secured the right to vote in Aotearoa, we gather again in strength and solidarity,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.

“Government has cancelled pay equity claims that would have eased the cost of living and lifted pay for more than 180,000 people. These are the people who provide the services that make life possible, such as schools, libraries, hospitals, aged care, and disability support.

“On Saturday we will make it clear that pay equity will be a central issue at the next election. No government can dismantle pay equity – we have won it before, and we will win it again.

“This is more than a protest – it is a celebration of the women who nurture, lead, and resist. It honours the suffrage legacy and amplifies our collective power to shape the future,” said Ansell-Bridges.

Details of nationwide events:

Whāngarei

Laurie Hall Park

11.30am

Auckland

AUT to Britomart

11.30am

Thames

Cnr Pollen St & Pahau St

10.30am

Tauranga

Mt Drury Reserve

10.30am

Hamilton

Te Kura Nui O Rototuna High School

11.00am

Whakatāne

The Gap – Whakatane Town Centre

11am

Gisborne

Gladstone Road at the town clock

10.30am

New Plymouth

Puke Ariki Landing

12pm

Napier

Napier Soundshell

11am

Whanganui

Whanganui Market Stall

10am

Palmerston North

Clocktower in the Square

1pm

Levin

Cnr Queen St & Salisbury St

11am

Masterton

Town Hall Square

11.30am

Porirua

Te Rauparaha Arena

10am

Wellington

Midland Park to Parliament, followed by Wellington Cathedral

10.30am

Nelson

Carpark between Burger King & Library

11am

Greymouth

Dixon Park

12pm

Christchurch

Victoria Square

10am

Timaru

Artisan Market

9.30am

Dunedin

Market Reserve 

11am

Gore

Eccles Street Playground

12pm

Invercargill

Gala Street Reserve

11am.
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First Responders – Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews respond to multiple fires across Canterbury region

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews are battling eight vegetation fires across the Canterbury region.
Strong winds across the region are fanning fires and the public are being asked to check burn piles are extinguished.
Fire and Emergency crews are working to bring a large vegetation fire in Southbridge under control.
Eleven ground crews supported by two helicopters are battling the blaze, which is approximately 30 hectares in size.
Fire and Emergency crews are also fighting at a vegetation fire in Springfield.
Nine trucks and two helicopters supported by heavy machinery are fighting the blaze, which is approximately 10 hectares in size.
Crews are working to contain the fire and bring it under control.
The public is being urged to check any burn piles.
Hot windy weather is the perfect condition for old fires to reignite and escape.
If you’ve been burning vegetation any time in the last few months or so, check the fire is completely extinguished.
If there’s hot ash, and it’s safe to do so, dig into it, spread it out and pour water over it.
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Fire and Emergency – King’s Birthday Honours recipients recognised

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand volunteers from Oxford, Fox Glacier, Matatā, and Taihape were presented with their Royal Honours by Governor-General the Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro at Government House in Wellington today.

“These four recipients have dedicated years to supporting their communities to become stronger, safer, and more resilient through their roles as volunteers for Fire and Emergency, and through all their other community contributions. It is wonderful to see their efforts recognised today,” Fire and Emergency Board Chair, Rebecca Keoghan, says.
“On behalf of Fire and Emergency and the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we wish to thank you for your outstanding service – your communities are richer for your work.”
Congratulations to the four recipients. Read more about their achievements here: https://www.fireandemergency.nz/incidents-and-news/news-and-media/fire-and-emergency-kings-birthday-honours-recipients-congratulated-2/

Ronald (Ron) Ealam (Oxford) – Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to Search and Rescue

Marius Bron (Fox Glacier) – King’s Service Medal (KSM) for services to Search and Rescue and the community

Gavin Dennis (Matatā) – King’s Service Medal (KSM) for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community

Alan (Curly) Troon (Taihape) – King’s Service Medal (KSM) for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

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Politics and Policy – Former Prime Ministers and young MPs unite at Parliament for launch of "Tomorrow Together", a call for better long-term decision-making in Aotearoa

Source: WEAll Aotearoa New Zealand

On Wednesday 17 September, Tomorrow Together, an initiative of WEAll Aotearoa, is unveiling a national discussion document at Parliament, asking Kiwis how our country can get better at long-term decision-making, to ensure fairness for future generations.
Hosted by the youngest Members of Parliament across the political spectrum (National, Labour, Te Pāti Māori, and the Greens), the forum will also feature reflections from former Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and Sir Geoffrey Palmer, who are urging bold, cross-party dialogue and action.
“Everyone knows Aotearoa has been bad at thinking long-term,” says Gareth Hughes, Director of WEAll Aotearoa. “You can see it in our infrastructure, the environment, and policy flip-flops.”
“We are highlighting practical policies that can address our challenges and move us beyond the type of short-term politics that enable poor decisions,” adds Hughes.
One of the flagship proposals in the discussion document is a Future Generations Act, a piece of legislation that could embed long-term thinking and intergenerational fairness into all public decision-making. 
Similar models are already gaining traction internationally, including in Wales, Scotland, Australia, and through initiatives led by the UN and EU.
“Too often, it feels like our leaders make decisions without considering the interests of my generation, and those following. But it is within our power to change this. We can refuse to accept a future marked by decline,” says Sophie Handford, Future Generations Lead at WEAll Aotearoa.
Sophie adds, “It’s time we made a conscious choice as a country, to be guided by a deep sense of responsibility to current and future generations and to put the wellbeing of our mokopuna and te taiao at the heart of our decision-making processes.”
“It’s time for a serious and collaborative national conversation about how we make decisions that serve an ideal long-term vision for Aotearoa, not just short-term interests.”
About the Discussion Document
The event and discussion document aim to spark public engagement and political collaboration around policies that prioritise wellbeing over the long-term. It poses eight key questions to help collectively determine which policy levers are best for Aotearoa to use. 
People are invited to share their responses to these questions by visiting weall.org.nz/tt-doc 
About WEAll Aotearoa
WEAll Aotearoa is a non-partisan and independent ‘think and do’ tank working to redesign Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy around the wellbeing of our people and te taiao. We use an evidence-informed approach and focus upstream to develop practical, long-term solutions for the public good.
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Local News – New green space for Pukerua Bay in Porirua

Source: Porirua City Council

Work will begin next week to remove the old Plunket building from Wairaka Park in Porirua's Pukerua Bay and restore the land to grassed open space for community use.
The building is located on reserve land between the Wairaka Road Playground and the Pukerua Bay Library. It is in poor condition and would need extensive work to make it safe and usable. After community consultation and considering various options, Porirua City Council made the decision that the building should be removed.
Council also agreed to seek proposals in the future from community groups that may wish to lease the bare land.
Work to remove the building is scheduled for 22 to 26 September. During this time there will be no access to the library or the reserve.
Parks Manager Julian Emeny says removing the building will really open up the space and make it an even nicer spot for community use.
“Wairaka Park is surrounded by bush, the library is right there, and the upgraded playground is super popular. Restoring the building site to grass will extend the green space and connect everything really nicely. We think this is a great outcome.”
As part of the demolition, as much material as possible will be recycled. All glass from the windows and doors will be made into new glass bottles and glass wall insulation, the concrete slab will be turned into aggregates, metals will be recycled where possible, non-treated, non-native timbers will be converted into biochar (much like charcoal), and any treated timber will be repurposed as much as possible.
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GAZA: Leaders of major aid groups call on world leaders to intervene following UN genocide conclusion – Oxfam

Source: Oxfam Aotearoa

The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies working in Gaza are calling on world leaders to urgently intervene after a UN commission concluded, for the first time, that genocide is being committed. 
The statement is below:
“As world leaders convene next week at the United Nations, we are calling on all member states to act in accordance with the mandate the UN was charged with 80 years ago. 
What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide.
With this finding, the Commission joins a growing number of human rights organisations and leaders globally, and within Israel.
The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable. As humanitarian leaders, we have borne direct witness to the horrifying deaths and suffering of the people of Gaza. Our warnings have gone unheeded and thousands more lives are still at stake.
Now, as the Israeli government has ordered the mass displacement of Gaza City – home to nearly one million people – we are on the precipice of an even deadlier period in Gaza’s story if action is not taken. Gaza has been deliberately made uninhabitable. 
About 65,000 Palestinians have now been killed, including more than 20,000 children. Thousands more are missing, buried under the rubble that has replaced Gaza’s once lively streets.
Nine out of 10 people in Gaza’s 2.1 million population have been forcibly displaced – most of them multiple times – into increasingly shrinking pockets of land that cannot sustain human life.
More than half a million people are starving. Famine has been declared and is spreading. The cumulative impact of hunger and physical deprivation means people are dying every day.
Throughout Gaza, entire cities have been razed to the ground, along with their life-sustaining public infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants. Agricultural land has been systemically destroyed.
If the facts and numbers aren’t enough, we have harrowing story upon harrowing story.
Since the Israeli military tightened its siege six months ago, blocking food, fuel, and medicine, we witnessed children and families waste away from starvation as famine took hold. Our colleagues too have been impacted.
Many of us have been into Gaza. We have met countless Palestinians who have lost limbs as a result of Israel’s bombardment. We have personally met children so traumatized by daily airstrikes that they cannot sleep. Some cannot speak. Others have told us they want to die to join their parents in heaven.
We have met families who eat animal food to survive and boil leaves as a meal for their children. 
Yet world leaders fail to act. Facts are ignored. Testimony is cast aside. And more people are killed as a direct consequence.
Our organisations, together with Palestinian civil society groups, the UN, and Israeli human rights organisations, can only do so much. We have tirelessly tried to defend the rights of the people of Gaza and sustain humanitarian assistance, but we are being obstructed every step of the way.
We have been denied access, and the militarization of the aid system has proved deadly. Thousands of people have been shot at while trying to reach the handful of sites where food is distributed under armed guard.
Governments must act to prevent the evisceration of life in the Gaza Strip, and to end the violence and occupation. All parties must disavow violence against civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law and pursue peace.
States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.
The UN enshrined international law as the cornerstone of global peace and security. If Member States continue to treat these legal obligations as optional, they are not only complicit but are setting a dangerous precedent for the future. History will undoubtedly judge this moment as a test of humanity. And we are failing. Failing the people of Gaza, failing the hostages, and failing our own collective moral imperative. 
CEO SIGN OFF  (alphabetical)
  • Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International
  • Othman Moqbel, Chief Executive Officer, Action For Humanity
  • Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of American Friends Service Committee
  • Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera
  • Reintje Van Haeringen, Executive Director CARE International
  • Jonas Nøddekær, Secretary General of DanChurchAid
  • Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council
  • Manuel Patrouillard, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
  • Jamie Munn, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
  • Waseem Ahmad, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
  • Joseph Belliveau, Executive Director of MedGlobal
  • Joel Weiler, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde France
  • Nicolás Dotta, Executive Director of Médecins du Monde Spain
  • Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières International
  • Kenneth Kim, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
  • Ann Graber Hershberger, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee US
  • Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
  • Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director
  • Simon Panek, CEO, People in Need
  • Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International
  • Donatella Vergara, President of Terre des Hommes Italy
  • Rob Williams, CEO of War Child Alliance.