Things are looking up for people looking to buy homes around the country

A new ASB Housing Confidence Survey shows a net 26 percent of respondents expect house prices to increase - the lowest since January.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley believes the recent first stage to the foreign buyers ban may have had an impact on people's expectations.

The least optimistic areas are Auckland and Christchurch, which reflects the period of falling house price growth in these areas.

Tuffley says the housing market price grow is slowing around the country.

He says interest rates are also forecast to remain quite low, which means conditions for buyers look like they'll continue to get better.