New Zealand Average Property Price £138,000

For newcomers from the UK, houses in New Zealand have not been so well priced for some time. The average sale price of a house in New Zealand has decreased to $375,408 (£138,017) from October’s $379,854 (£139,652). Property values have now declined 6.8 percent over the calander year.

Commenting on falling house prices in New Zealand, Quotable Value’s spokesperson Blue Hancock said:

“This month is the first time since August 2007 that the annual change in property values has not dropped further than reported the previous month. Although this appears positive, it is still too soon to say that the market is recovering. While interest rates continue to fall sharply tighter lending criteria may be dampening any immediate impact on the property market. The strength of the Christmas retail season will be a good indicator of public sentiment and how hard the recession is hitting. Many businesses are currently feeling the pinch, and uncertainty over job security will be a major factor in whether people buy or sell property”

New Zealand’s central bank cut interest rates by a huge 1.5 percent to 5 percent earlier this month to stimulate the economy. There are hopes that this will have a steading effect on the housing market over the summer months.

House Prices in New Zealand
Three Months Ending November 2008

Location	Average House Price (NZ$)	Comments
Auckland Region	$494,136 (£181,667)	Property values in the Auckland region fell by 7.4% over the past year. Buyer interest appears to have increased in most areas. This increased activity is much later than usual. Buyers are however certainly trying to secure a bargain. The high proportion of mortgagee sales has set price benchmarks in some areas of the market. Parts of the CBD apartment market are definitely in this category, along with other areas such as Dannemora and Clendon. Buyers are able to test vendor reaction by presenting low offers, if accepted this effectively caps market values for everyone
Hamilton	$345,785 (£127,126)	Hamilton’s property values decreased by 8.5% over the past year a slight improvement on the 9.0% fall last month. There is a reasonable indication that after months of accelerated decline, property values in Hamilton City have started to level off over the past few months. The value of the residential property market is now similar to that experienced in January 2007
Wellington Region	$411,922 (£151,441)	Wellington’s property values decreased by 6.0% over the past year. Early signs that the Wellington market may be beginning to steady are slowly emerging, possibly as a result of changing interest rates. Generally, buyers are starting to show more curiosity. The indications are; steadier prices in the last two months, and shorter selling times over the past four months.
Christchurch	$355,828 (£130,819)	Property values in Christchurch decreased by 7.4% over the past year. The change in property values over the last couple of months show that the trend of rapid decline may be easing. While sales volumes are still very low, the average sales prices appears to have stabilised recently.
Dunedin	$258,671 (£95,100)	Dunedin’s residential property values decreased 7.6% over the past year. The Southern City area continued the trend of the previous two months, showing the greatest level of decline (-12.5%). This was in sharp contrast to the Peninsula/Coastal area, which showed a decline of only 1.9%.
Tauranga	$430,464 (£158,258)	Property values in Tauranga decreased by 8.4% over the past year. The local market is still going through a tough period. While there is a bit more optimism leading into the summer months, the predicted increase in activity has not yet eventuated.

* Assumed exchange rate is £1 = NZ$2.72
** New Zealand’s average house prices are not directly comparable with the UK’s because, unlike the UK, the average home in New Zealand is a detached bungalow.