The national average house price is falling, despite increasing in most regions

Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute show the median price dropped 1.3 percent in the year to May, to 770-thousand dollars.

Median prices dropped in six regions -- Nelson, Otago, Wellington, Waikato, Gisborne and Northland.

But Chief Executive Jen Baird says the median price rose in the country's ten other regions, and has been rising sharply on the West Coast.

She says the median price for the West Coast is up 14.1 percent, and the region has had a really strong market in the last few months.