New Zealand's house sales declined notably in July from a year ago, while median house prices climbed further, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand said Wednesday.

The total volume of home sales plunged 10.1 percent year-over-year in July, reversing a 6.0 percent climb in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of sales dropped 3.6 percent monthly in July.

At the same time, house prices grew 8.6 percent annually in July and rose 2.0 percent from the preceding month. The median price in Auckland alone surged 12.0 percent in July from a year ago - RTTnews.