The asking price of homes in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago region is the highest in the country, according to new statistics.

Realestate.co.nz reported the area knocked Auckland off the top spot in December with an average asking price of $984,719.

The last time the region pushed Auckland off the top was January 2016.

Nationally, the asking price moved up 3.8 per cent compared to the previous month, to $660,798.

Overall new listings were down across the country with 13 of the 19 regions experiencing a drop.

Auckland contributed significantly, with only 1,908 new houses listed last month, spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said.

"[The] Central Otago/Lakes region also showed a significant drop, with new house listings down 26.6 per cent to 212 properties. This would appear to have had some effect on the region's climbing asking prices," she said.

The real-time statistics showed that nationally the average asking price hit an all-time high of $660,798 while new listings dropped to the lowest level on record.

New listings are down 6.2 per cent in December compared with December 2016 – just 7,133 compared with 7,606 – and are at an all-time low.

Total housing stock continues to build, up 9.3 per cent when compared with December 2016, with most of it located in Auckland.

Areas which experienced the biggest asking price increases included Nelson & Bays (up 11.3 per cent to $618,712), Marlborough (up 10.0 per cent up to $479,288), West Coast (up 8.7 per cent to $265,396), Southland (up 6.3 per cent to $309,174) and Wairarapa (up 5.4 per cent to $429,488).

The biggest decreases in asking price were in the Central North Island (down 7.4 per cent to $403,648) and Gisborne (down 4.7 per cent to $287,928).