North Shore Property Market Update: August 2026
August is normally a warm-up act for spring, and this year it played that part almost too well. Sales activity across Auckland eased back again, but prices held their ground, and here on the North Shore the story was much the same: a market that isn't racing anywhere, but isn't going backwards either.
The bigger news came from the Reserve Bank, not REINZ. After eighteen months of cuts, the Official Cash Rate has now risen twice in two months. That's the piece worth paying attention to this month, and I've broken down what it might mean below.
Welcome to the North Shore Property Market Update for 2026. Buckle in.
Stats at a glance: August 2026
Metric | Mairangi Bay & Surrounds | North Shore City | Auckland Region (REINZ) | New Zealand (REINZ) |
Median price | $1,420,000 | $1,171,000 | $950,000 | $750,000 |
Median price, MoM | -1.4% | +0.9% | +1.6% | -1.4% |
Median price, YoY | -16.5% | +0.5% | 0.0% | -1.3% |
Median days to sell | 52 days | – | 54 days | 51 days |
Days to sell, MoM | +13 days | – | +4 days | – |
Days to sell, YoY | +16 days | – | +7 days | +3 days |
Sales volume | 31 | 264 | 1,642 | 5,430 |
Sales volume, MoM | +6.9% | -10.8% | -16.8% | -13.3% |
Sales volume, YoY | +63.2% | -14.8% | -15.3% | -13.0% |
HPI, YoY | – | – | -2.3% | -0.9% |
A dash means REINZ doesn't publish that measure at that level (days to sell and the House Price Index aren't reported below regional level). Nothing here is estimated.
Auckland in August
Auckland's median price came in at $950,000, up 1.6% on July and flat year-on-year. Sales fell to 1,642, down 16.8% on July and 15.3% on August last year, making it one of the quieter Augusts on record for the region. Days to sell stretched to 54, seven days longer than a year ago.
Peter Thompson, Barfoot & Thompson's Managing Director, called it "a solid buyers' market, but there are signs that prices are hardening," noting it was "unusual for the median price to be higher in the last month of winter than the first month of the cold season." He described the August median as "a solid benchmark price from which to start the arrival of the spring selling season."
Where Barfoot & Thompson's own numbers sit alongside REINZ's
Barfoot & Thompson sold 787 properties across Auckland in August, down 6.9% on July and 11.5% on a year ago, at a median of $955,000 (+1.1% MoM, +0.5% YoY) and an average of $1,098,487. New listings fell 6.1% on July to 1,456, while month-end stock held roughly flat at 5,870.
On the North Shore specifically, Barfoot & Thompson recorded 149 sales in August, slightly ahead of the 147 a year earlier, at an average price of $1,252,766 (up from $1,223,975 in August 2025). Over the past 12 months the North Shore has produced 1,854 sales through Barfoot & Thompson, up from 1,698 the year before.
North Shore property market holds its ground
REINZ's territorial authority figures show North Shore City as one of the steadier corners of the region this month.
Territorial Authority | Median price (Aug-26) | vs Jul-26 | vs Aug-25 | Sales (Aug-26) | vs Jul-26 | vs Aug-25 |
Auckland City | $1,126,500 | +9.4% | +5.3% | 447 | -14.4% | -12.0% |
Franklin District | $850,000 | +0.6% | +5.3% | 84 | -17.6% | -30.0% |
Manukau City | $865,500 | +1.8% | -4.9% | 369 | -17.4% | -19.1% |
North Shore City | $1,171,000 | +0.9% | +0.5% | 264 | -10.8% | -14.8% |
Papakura District | $790,000 | -2.5% | +4.6% | 59 | -27.2% | -6.3% |
Rodney District | $1,055,000 | -0.5% | -3.7% | 167 | -22.3% | +4.4% |
Waitakere City | $849,999 | -0.2% | +2.2% | 252 | -18.7% | -21.5% |
Auckland Region | $950,000 | +1.6% | 0.0% | 1,642 | -16.8% | -15.3% |
North Shore City was one of only two Auckland TAs to post a year-on-year price gain, and its sales decline was smaller than the regional average. Auckland City's headline 9.4% monthly jump stands out, but it's coming off a smaller sales base and a steeper prior fall.
Mairangi Bay & Surrounds in August
Locally, August's median landed at $1,420,000, down 1.4% on July and 16.5% below August last year, a comparison that says more about how strong last August's small, big-ticket month was than about any real correction. Sales activity actually picked up: 31 sales, ahead of July's 29 and well up on the 19 recorded in August 2025. The median time to sell was 52 days, 13 days slower than July and 16 days slower than a year ago.
Looking at the twelve months to August across all five suburbs (425 sales after excluding apartments, vacant sections and duplicate records, plus one confirmed multi-unit parcel sale on Garadice Road, Rothesay Bay): three in four sales (75.1%) were standalone freehold homes, the typical sale had four bedrooms, and prices split fairly evenly either side of the middle: 9.6% sold under $1 million, 34.4% between $1 million and $1.5 million, 36.0% between $1.5 million and $2 million, and 20.0% above $2 million. About one in six sales (17.5%) took longer than 90 days to sell, a reminder that the "average" listing still masks a wide spread of outcomes.
It was also a big year for standout sales. Murrays Bay's 19 Bournemouth Terrace topped the twelve months at $5,550,000, closely followed by Campbells Bay's 35 View Road at $5,490,000 and Mairangi Bay's 21 Brighton Terrace at $4,375,000. More on the recent stand-outs below.
Spring in the Bays also means school enrolment season. Rangitoto College sits right in Mairangi Bay and anchors much of this area's family demand, and like most popular zoned schools, families wanting to enrol for the following year need to be settled and able to prove in-zone residency well ahead of Term 4. That tends to add extra depth to the family end of the market from September through November, on top of the usual spring lift, and it's worth factoring in if you're a seller with a home that suits the school-age bracket.
Interest rates and the election in the background
This is the section that changes every month, and this month it changed a lot. The Reserve Bank raised the OCR to 2.75% on 2 September, its second straight increase after eighteen months of cuts and three consecutive holds at 2.25%. Chief Economist Paul Conway pointed to fuel prices pushing inflation to 4.1% in the June quarter, driven largely by the Middle East conflict, and signalled more hikes could follow this year.
Fixed mortgage rates are starting to reflect that. Short-term rates are still the cheapest on the board, but two-year-and-longer terms have been climbing since around June, as banks price in the possibility of a higher-for-longer OCR.
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Add in the lead-up to November's general election, and it's little wonder REINZ describes buyers nationally as taking a "wait-and-see" approach.
Locally, that's shown up as more caution on price rather than less activity, activity has actually held up well in the Bays this month.
The rolling 12 months in context
Zooming out, the past year in Mairangi Bay & Surrounds has been more choppy than trending. The median has ranged from a low of $1.37 million (February) to a high of $1.74 million (November), with August's $1.42 million sitting toward the lower end of that band. Sales volume followed its usual seasonal shape: a January lull (11 sales) followed by a steady climb back through winter.
It depends which street you're on
Looking at the most recent quarter (June to August), the gap between suburbs is as wide as ever.
Suburb | Median price (Jun-Aug 26) | Sales | Median days to sell | Highest sale in suburb, last 6 months |
Mairangi Bay | $1,560,000 | 35 | 51 days | $4,375,000 - 21 Brighton Terrace, 11 Jun 2026 |
Murrays Bay | $1,570,000 | 19 | 41.5 days | $5,550,000 - 19 Bournemouth Terrace, 29 May 2026 |
Rothesay Bay | $1,385,000 | 21 | 34.5 days | - |
Campbells Bay | $1,425,000 | 15 | 63 days | $5,490,000 - 35 View Road, 2 Jun 2026 |
Windsor Park | $1,325,000 | 9 | 43 days | $1,900,000 - 43 Zara Court, 27 Jul 2026 |
Windsor Park's quarter rests on just 9 sales, treat that median as indicative rather than a firm read on the suburb.
Rothesay Bay's highest sale over the same six months was 47 Masterton Road at $3,650,000 (19 Jun 2026) - no Rothesay Bay sale appears in the recent-sales rows above this time, so it's noted here.
For investors, here's how the numbers stack up on a typical 3-bedroom home, from Barfoot & Thompson's August Suburb Report:
Suburb | Avg 3-bed sale price | Avg weekly rent | Gross yield |
Mairangi Bay | $1,445,167 | $789 | 2.84% |
Murrays Bay | $1,796,862 | $746 | 2.16% |
Rothesay Bay | $1,100,000 | $798 | 3.77% |
Campbells Bay | Insufficient data | Insufficient data | Insufficient data |
Windsor Park | $1,022,000 | $729 | 3.71% |
Campbells Bay doesn't have enough 3-bedroom sales or tenancies this month to report (Barfoot & Thompson excludes suburbs under four data points). Rothesay Bay and Windsor Park offer the strongest yields of the five.
Recent sales across the Bays
The most recent individual sales recorded across the five suburbs, including early-September settlements. These later sales are shown here for interest only, they aren't folded into August's headline figures above, per our usual reporting rule. The last column is each suburb's top sale over the past six months, for anyone curious what a genuine standout looks like on their own street.
Address | Suburb | Price | Sale date | Method |
5 MacNay Way | Murrays Bay | $1,940,000 | 11 Sep | Private Treaty |
13 Wisteria Way | Mairangi Bay | $1,250,000 | 9 Sep | Auction |
1A Altair Place | Windsor Park | $1,360,000 | 8 Sep | Private Treaty |
313 East Coast Road | Mairangi Bay | $1,410,000 | 7 Sep | Private Treaty |
11A Saddleback Rise | Murrays Bay | $787,000 | 7 Sep | Tender |
2/8 Park Rise | Campbells Bay | $1,665,000 | 4 Sep | Private Treaty |
3/38 Matipo Road | Mairangi Bay | $1,090,000 | 1 Sep | Private Treaty |
52 Newhaven Terrace | Mairangi Bay | $2,050,000 | 31 Aug | Private Treaty |
5 Tree Fern Trail | Campbells Bay | $1,475,000 | 28 Aug | Private Treaty |
24 Lyons Avenue | Murrays Bay | $1,870,000 | 27 Aug | Auction |
What this means if you're selling, buying, or staying put
If you're selling: activity in the Bays is holding up better than the regional headlines suggest, and August's sales count was actually the strongest since June. With rates now moving up rather than down, buyers who've been waiting for a lower mortgage rate may start moving sooner rather than later, spring is shaping up as a normal selling season, not a delayed one. If you've been wondering whether you're underselling, a fresh appraisal is worth doing before you list.
If you're buying: the wait-and-see mood nationally means less competition at open homes right now, but two consecutive OCR hikes are a signal, not a one-off. If you're planning to fix for longer than a year, it may be worth locking in sooner rather than later. Auction activity nationally was lighter than a year ago (11.7% of sales vs 12.4%), so if auctions have felt intimidating, there's more room to negotiate through other methods at the moment. If you've got a school-age family and want to be in-zone for Rangitoto College or another local school next year, spring settlement timelines matter more than usual this year, worth building that into your search now rather than in December.
If you're staying put: North Shore City's prices have held up better than most of Auckland this year, which is good news for your equity even if you're not planning to move. Worth keeping an eye on where buyers are placing the most value if renovations are on your radar before any future sale.
The tl;dr version
How is the North Shore property market performing in August 2026?
North Shore City's median price rose 0.9% on July to $1,171,000, one of the steadier results across Auckland's territorial authorities, though sales volume eased 10.8% on July in line with the wider regional slowdown.
How is the Mairangi Bay & Surrounds property market performing?
August's median was $1,420,000 with 31 sales, more sales than July despite the softer median, and a slower median time to sell at 52 days.
Is now a good time to sell on the North Shore?
Sales activity in the North Shore & East Coast Bays has held up better than the regional average, and spring typically brings more buyers into the market. The Reserve Bank's rate hikes may bring forward some buyer decisions rather than delay them.
What happened with interest rates in August/September 2026?
The Reserve Bank raised the OCR to 2.75% on 2 September, the second increase in two months after eighteen months of cuts, citing inflation driven by higher fuel prices.
Before you go
I'm Nish, a residential salesperson here on Auckland's North Shore, licensed as a Branch Manager under REAA 2008. Charlotte Goudge and Nana Li, both residential salespeople, are my partners in covering this market, and between the three of us we track it street by street, not just suburb by suburb, including the kind of standout sales that don't always make the headlines.
Curious what your place would fetch heading into spring? Get a free appraisal.
Disclaimer and data sources
Figures are sourced from REINZ (Statistics Search Export and NZ Property Report, August 2026), Barfoot & Thompson's own August 2026 market reports, and REINZ Market Insights data for Mairangi Bay & Surrounds. Individual sale records exclude apartments and vacant sections, and duplicate records have been removed. 33A-E Garadice Road, Rothesay Bay ($3,618,000) has been confirmed as a multi-unit parcel sale and excluded from all composition and area figures above. 4 Gulf View Road, Murrays Bay ($3,100,000, crosslease) has been confirmed as a single dwelling and is included normally. One sale, 22 View Road, Campbells Bay ($3,465,000, crosslease), remains flagged for manual title verification. Nothing in this report is estimated or fabricated; where REINZ doesn't publish a figure at a given level (days to sell or HPI below regional level), that cell is shown as a dash.
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