Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel

The New Year has opened with quieter listing numbers, steady buyer attention, and prices holding where they landed at the end of 2025. January is always more about mood than maths, but the signals across Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel are clear enough to read without squinting.

Hauraki

In Hauraki District, December 2025 delivered a median sale price of around $630,000. That figure has been broadly stable through late spring and early summer, suggesting values have found a comfortable holding pattern rather than drifting lower. Activity slowed in January, as expected, but buyer enquiry has remained consistent. Conditional buyers are still active, finance is available, and pricing realism continues to be the difference between selling and sitting.

Hauraki remains attractive to value driven buyers who want space, lifestyle, and a lower entry point than coastal or holiday markets. Homes that are well presented and priced to evidence are selling, while those anchored to peak era expectations are being politely ignored.

Thames-Coromandel

In Thames-Coromandel District, the December 2025 median sale price sat at $995,000. That keeps the district firmly in premium territory, with coastal and holiday locations continuing to command a significant uplift over neighbouring districts.

January brought fewer new listings into the Coromandel market, with regional new supply down year on year. Less fresh stock has helped good quality homes stand out, particularly those offering realistic pricing or something genuinely scarce. Buyer behaviour remains cautious but engaged. People are looking, comparing, and negotiating rather than rushing, which suits prepared sellers far more than hopeful ones.

National and regional signals

Across New Zealand, total listings in January 2026 were slightly higher than a year earlier, giving buyers more choice and reinforcing disciplined negotiation. Online activity tells a different story, with realestate.co.nz reporting site visits up more than 12 percent year on year. In plain terms, interest is rising even if commitment is taking its time.

Trade Me’s latest Property Pulse shows Waikato values up modestly year on year, which provides a useful temperature check for sentiment feeding into Hauraki and lower Coromandel markets. It is not a direct proxy for district medians, but it does confirm that widespread price falls are not the story heading into 2026.

What this means for buyers and sellers

For sellers, January has rewarded preparation. Pricing aligned to recent sales, not memories from 2021, remains essential. With fewer new listings coming on in the Coromandel, well marketed homes can still attract competition, especially when expectations are sensible.

For buyers, choice remains strong and negotiating power is intact. Waiting for perfect certainty is unlikely to pay dividends, as finance availability and enquiry levels suggest momentum is quietly rebuilding beneath the surface.

Market influencers for 2026

Looking ahead, four factors are likely to shape property decisions through 2026.

The first is political uncertainty at home. With the New Zealand General Election scheduled for November, periods of hesitation are likely as buyers and sellers wait for clarity on housing policy, taxation, and immigration. History shows elections tend to delay decisions rather than permanently dampen demand, with activity often lifting once policy direction is clear.

The second influence is global political noise, particularly around Donald Trump and the United States. Shifts in US trade policy, fiscal settings, and geopolitical posture can drive volatility in global markets. That volatility flows through to bond yields, currencies, and wholesale funding costs, which ultimately affect New Zealand mortgage rates. While local buyers are not reacting to US politics directly, offshore uncertainty can create short periods of caution, especially among discretionary and investor buyers.

The third factor remains interest rate expectations. Funding costs continue to flow straight into mortgage pricing and sentiment. Even small changes in outlook can alter behaviour quickly, with buyers either stepping forward or pausing depending on how confident they feel about rate stability.

The fourth influence is value stability. Latest quarterly data to December 2025 shows modest growth, reinforcing that the market floor appears firmer than it felt earlier in the cycle. Growth is uneven by region, but the data supports a market that is no longer sliding, even if it is not racing ahead.

Key takeaway

January 2026 has not arrived with fireworks, but it has delivered something more useful, a market that is functioning. Buyers are active, sellers are adjusting, and prices are holding where evidence supports them. For Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel, that is a solid platform to build from as the year unfolds.