Real estate agents are reporting less interest from investors but then they're reporting a small fall off in potential buyers generally.
Can this be attributed to the Reserve Bank's plan to reimpose loan-to-valuation ratio restrictions on investors, particularly since the major banks have already re-imposed them?
"It is possible that the restoration of LVR rules by banks may have encouraged some backing off of buyers with limited resources," said economist Tony Alexander, who conducts the survey for the Real Estate Institute.
"However, it is also possible that some people may simply be getting tired of weekends in a row spent attending open homes and frequent presence at auctions," Alexander said.
The housing market typically cools in December and January as people head off for their summer holidays.
"It might not necessarily indicate that buyers are deserting the market, but instead could be taking a summer break."
A key indicator suggests it's more the latter than the LVRs; 88 percent of agents report that fear of missing out among buyers is a dominant factor, a level unchanged from last month.
As well, a net 88 percent of agents are expecting house prices to rise in their locations and only 12 percent report that buyers are worried about unemployment – that's down from 48 percent in June.
About 49 percent report buyers having difficulties in securing finance, up from 43 percent in November but down from the July-to-September results.
Other indicators
Among the other indicators, a net 26 percent of agents are reporting more requests for property appraisals, down from 33 percent last month and 36 percent in October.
In one of the worst hit parts of the country by the lack of international tourists, Queenstown, a net 25 percent of agents said they're getting fewer requests for appraisals.
A net 42 percent of agents are reporting more people showing up at auctions, down from 47 percent in November, and a net 38 percent are reporting greater attendance at open homes, down from 59 percent last month.
In Auckland, only a net 17 percent of agents are reporting more people showing up at open homes, the lowest reading of all regions.
A net 50 percent of agents are reporting seeing more first-home buyers, down from 64 percent last month, while a net 45 percent are seeing more investors, down from 59 percent in November.
"History shows that when the 30 percent minimum deposit requirement was first imposed in Auckland only late in 2015, the impact on turnover and price movement was relatively short-lived," Alexander said.
"Only when the 40 percent minimum deposit was imposed nationwide, effective from July 2016, did a sustained impact on house price inflation occur."
