Vendors being slow to accept how much values have fallen and buyers driving hard bargains

Residential properties appear to be selling for around $100,000 less than their asking prices.

Comparing the average asking prices on Trade Me Property with the Real Estate Institute of NZ's median selling prices, shows on average there is a huge gap between the prices vendors are hoping for and the prices buyers are prepared to pay.

In February, the national average asking price of properties advertised on Trade Me was $870,550, while the national median selling price recorded by the REINZ in the same month was $762,000, a discount of $108,550 to the average asking price.The same phenomenon was evident throughout the country, with selling prices substantially lower than asking prices in all regions.

The biggest difference between the two figures was $172,000 in Dunedin. Canterbury had the smallest difference at $34,000.The size of the gap between asking and selling prices suggests many, if not most, vendors have not fully accepted how much the housing market has changed over the last 12 months and have unrealistic price expectations when they list their properties for sale.

Selling prices have also been falling faster than asking prices, with the REINZ's median selling price down 13.9% in the year to February, while Trade Me's average asking price was down 9.2% over the same period.

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