Activity's been picking up in the housing market

Latest data from the Real Estate Institute shows a steady rise in sales and listings, in the year to October.

Sales are up 6.4 percent, and new listings are up 5.5 percent.

The median house price has fallen 1.1 percent.

But the institute's house price index - used by the Reserve Bank to track the housing market as a whole - is up 0.3 percent.

The index shows Canterbury prices up 2.4 percent, Auckland prices down 0.3 percent, and Wellington prices down 2.9 percent.