The End of the “Sneaky Deal”? Why the Gap Between Asking Price and Sale Price is Shrinking
By Lions Roar Property Desk
NEW ZEALAND (Tuesday, February 3, 2026) — If you are scouting for a new home this summer, the days of throwing in a “cheeky” low-ball offer might be coming to an end. New data from Realestate.co.nz and CoreLogic (Cotality) reveals that while average asking prices dipped by 1.5% in January, the gap between what sellers want and what buyers are paying is narrower than it has been in years.
Economists say this shift isn’t because houses are getting cheaper, but because Kiwi sellers are finally getting “real” about what their homes are actually worth.
📊 The 3.8% Reality: Median Discounts Revealed
According to Kelvin Davidson, Chief Economist at CoreLogic, the median discount buyers paid on the original list price in 2025 was just 3.8%. This is a steady decline from the post-pandemic years when buyers were often shaving more than 5% off the asking price.
| Year | Median Discount on List Price |
| 2021 | 2.9% (Market Peak) |
| 2022 | 5.1% |
| 2023 | 4.6% |
| 2024 | 4.2% |
| 2025 | 3.8% |
📍 Regional Roundup: Where are the biggest bargains?
The “expectation gap” varies significantly across the country. If you’re looking for the biggest negotiation room, head to the East Coast or the far North.
- Biggest Discounts: Gisborne led the country with a 5.9% median discount, followed by Northland (5.5%) and the West Coast (5%).
- Smallest Discounts: Taranaki remains the hardest place to haggle, with just a 3.1% gap—suggesting Taranaki vendors are setting more accurate prices from day one.
🏗️ Why the Gap is Closing: The Information Age
Davidson attributes the shrinking discount to the sheer amount of data available to both sides of the transaction. With free valuation estimates and market reports accessible at a click, the chance for a vendor to “sneak in” an above-market price has vanished.
“The scope for an excessive price is reduced, but at the same time, the scope for buyers to get a sneaky deal is probably reduced,” Davidson said. “People are just being a bit more realistic than they might have been a few years ago.”
📈 Choice is Back: Stock Levels Hit 12-Year High
While negotiating might be tougher, buyers have more choice than they’ve had in over a decade. Total available stock rose 2.3% year-on-year in January, with more than 33,000 properties currently on the market—the highest January level since 2014.
Gisborne again topped the charts here, with a massive 15.1% increase in available homes, giving buyers in that region significant leverage despite the shrinking discounts.
