The cost of purchasing a section is on the decline - but the price of building is still making new builds inaccessible

Data from the Building Research Association shows the average section price is down 15-percent compared to mid-2022 to 240-thousand dollars.

However, combined with cost of building a house, it suggests buying an existing home continues to be substantially cheaper.

The association suspects the driving factor is the steady rise in house build prices - which have grown at nearly twice the rate of inflation.