A shortage of houses has seen Upper Hutt's property market come to a standstill this winter

Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show the median house price for the Wellington Region has risen to just under 600 thousand dollars.

In Upper Hutt, prices are up by more than 18 percent compared to this time last year.

But Regional Director Mark Coffey says the number of properties sold in the area has halved since May, and decreased by more than 16 percent on this time last year.

And he says the numbers may actually be even lower than they appear, as many of the houses listed are new builds which haven't started construction yet.