Figures from realestate.co.nz show fewer listings in the Bay of Plenty, and less interest in the region from Auckland buyers.

However, asking prices have continued to increase in the Bay.

Tauranga has been recently described as the most unaffordable city in New Zealand to buy a new home, according to the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

'It looks like Aucklanders are less interested with the region than they previously were,” says realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Taylor.

Real time data shows viewings of listings in the region from Aucklanders has fallen each January over the last three years (January 2016 – January 2018).

Despite this, Bay of Plenty asking prices continue to rise and are at an all-time high of $637,281, a 1.6 per cent increase on December 2017.

Listings are also in scarce supply in the Bay of Plenty. The region registered a record low in new property listings compared with January 2017, with 466 new listings (down 12.6 per cent on the previous year).

Nationally, there were 7491 new property listings across the country, which is a 4.9 per cent decrease on the same period last year.

However, total housing stock is up seven per cent compared to January 2017, which indicates that many properties are not selling as quickly as in previous years, says Vanessa.

The average asking price across the country was $647,535 which is a two per cent fall compared to December 2017.