The Coromandel reached record high average asking prices in November according to data from New Zealand real estate website Realestate.co.nz.

The Waikato and Bay of Plenty also broke records, but the national average asking price of homes for sale continues to plateau and remains below record highs achieved three months ago.

In the Coromandel the average asking price during November was $554,303 which is up by 2.7 per cent from $539,597 in September.

In the Waikato the average asking price was $413,067 which is up 2.3 per cent from $403,640 in August, while in the Bay of Plenty a record high of $487,025 is up 1.1 per cent from $481,730 in October.

CEO Brendon Skipper says it's significant that the areas where asking prices are at record highs are all within striking distance of Auckland.

'There have been strong indications over recent months that Aucklanders are house hunting further afield, which is helping to raise the expectations of sellers in these neighbouring regions,” explains Brendon.

The national average asking price in November was $547,515, which is up by 1.4 per cent from October, but still slightly down from the national record of $568,215 in August.

While new listings nationally show a 5.6 per cent reduction from the same month last year, once again the Coromandel, Waikato and Bay of Plenty are among the regions bucking this trend with all three having the most new listings for any November for at least five years.

'Nationally, we've seen fewer listings this year than we have since November 2009,” adds Brendon 'This may further exacerbate the shortage of inventory, which still hovers near the all-time low of 16.1 weeks we reached last month.”

AUCKLAND'S PROPERTY MARKET

In Auckland, the average asking price of $849,882 was marginally lower than the record of $851,531 in September.

But Auckland apartment asking prices surged, with the average asking price in November reaching a new record high of $660,001.

This represents an increase of 31.5 per cent compared to November 2014, when the average asking price for apartments in Auckland breached $500,000 for the first time.

The increase in the asking price for apartments (31.5 per cent) is almost twice as much as the increase in asking price for Auckland houses of 16.8 per cent over the same period.

Auckland dominates the market for apartments nationally, accounting for 71.9 per cent of all national apartment listings.