Message from our chief executive
Message from our chief executive
Dear Property Owner,
Ask economists how the housing market is performing, and you’ ll hear words like“ sideways” and“ balanced”. Ask a sales agent at the coalface, and you’ ll hear“ engaged” and“ quality demand.”
The gap between those perspectives is where real estate actually happens – not in spreadsheets and data analysis – but in lounge rooms, at open homes, and under the hammer.
If you wait for the official data to confirm a market turn, you are usually looking at yesterday’ s market. Across our network, recent auctions have produced clearance rates exceeding 70 per cent – well ahead of the combined averages of the two past years.
Sales for the first month of 2026 are up 11.40 per cent year-on-year, extending a run of consistent double-digit gains through the final quarter of 2025. This is not a sudden surge; it is sustained energy across buyer groups and price brackets.
Pipeline signals are equally telling.
Listing authorities across our Ray White network – often the earliest indicator of future supply – softened late last year before flowing through to a lift in live listings. Now, that trend is reversing, with available stock beginning to tighten. At the same time, median days to sell have fallen back to long-term norms, and most resales are once again occurring at a profit.
When demand firms while supply contracts, competition intensifies.
The broader economic backdrop is improving, albeit unevenly.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand( RBNZ) has held the Official Cash Rate( OCR) unchanged at 2.25 per cent, inflation is tracking toward target, wholesale borrowing costs have eased, and pressure on mortgage rates has moderated. GDP has returned to growth, and despite elevated unemployment, economic conditions are expected to improve gradually.
Meanwhile, structural constraints – including infrastructure costs and development levies – continue to limit new housing supply in the areas people most want to live. In simple terms, demand is rebuilding faster than supply can respond.
Against this backdrop of renewed confidence, we are proud to announce a partnership that reflects the scale of our ambitions and the communities we serve.
Ray White is now the Official New Zealand Real Estate Partner of New Zealand Rugby, supporting both the All Blacks and the Black Ferns. These teams embody excellence, performance, trust and national pride – values that resonate deeply across our network.
Where on the field or in the marketplace, success comes from preparation, teamwork and the courage to act when the opportunity presents itself. From what we are seeing across the country, that opportunity is no longer theoretical – it’ s now in play.
Fittingly, this 88th edition of Ray White Now – a number traditionally linked with prosperity and positive momentum – arrived at a moment when the market itself appears to be turning a more confident corner.
Regards,
DANIEL COULSON CHIEF EXECUTIVE RAY WHITE NEW ZEALAND
RAY WHITE NOW NEW ZEALAND | 5