Wellington's booming property market has taken a hit following last week's quake.

In past months Wellington house prices have skyrocketed with more people wanting to buy than what's available on the market.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand's Wellington director Euon Murrell said the market has noticeably slowed down as people deal with the aftermath of the quake.

"If you're actively out there looking and then suddenly there's an earthquake, then maybe that's not a top priority anymore," he said.

Murrell said there's always a slow-down in activity immediately following a major event like an earthquake. However, he said it won't stay that way for long.

"Life goes on and people move for various reasons, so we would expect that the market would be back to normal in early January."