New Zealand: November Property Values Rise 11.4%
Quotable Value has released November’s figures for New Zealand’s housing market. The average sale price of a house in New Zealand has decreased to $393,198 (£149,505) from October’s $406,176 (£154,439). Property values have increased 11.4% over the calander year. New Zealand’s average house prices are not directly comparable with the UK’s because, unlike the UK, the average home in New Zealand is a detached bungalow.
QV spokesperson Blue Hancock said:
“In the lead-up to the holiday season the residential property market remains steady with a softening of the annual property growth figures across the majority of the country. The market continues to favour buyers over sellers. Buyers seem content to take their time before committing themselves to purchase and sellers are considering reducing asking prices accordingly.”
House Prices in New Zealand
Three Months Ending November 2007
| Location | Average House Price (NZ$) | Average House Price (£) | Comments |
| Auckland Region | $508,974 | £193,526 | Property values in the Auckland region grew by 11.8% over the past year down from 12.8% reported last month. Within Auckland City the market is being more discerning in its choice of property. Older well-built family homes are being favoured over modern monolithic type town houses. Relatively good prices are still being achieved for quality properties. |
| Hamilton | $367,660 | £139,795 | Hamilton’s property values increased by 14.5% over the past year up from 14.4% reported last month. The Central City/North West area of Hamilton eased from 15.4% last month to 13.5% this month. The South West decreased from 15.4% to 12.9%, and Hamilton North East dropped from 16.6% to 15.3%. The only area to buck this trend was South East Hamilton, which increased from 12.3% to 15.1% |
| Wellington Region | $425,429 | £161,760 | Property values in the Wellington region increased by 13.6% over the past year. Upper Hutt showed the greatest increase across the region of 17.5%. However, this is a large drop from the 19.8% reported last month and a good indication of an easing property market. Lower Hutt dropped 3.8% from last month to 16.1%. The Northern Suburbs recorded the lowest increase across the region of 11%, while the Eastern Suburbs eased slightly to 11.3% and the Western Suburbs decreased to 14.7%. Reversing the trend, Kapiti Coast and Porirua actually went up this month to 15.3% and 15.8%. |
| Christchurch | $359,891 | £136,840 | The Property values in Christchurch increased by 9.9% over the past year, down from 12.3% reported last month. The market continues to soften with lower sale volumes, lengthening sale periods and pricing pressures evident. This is especially noticeable in the upper price brackets. The market in the provincial centres had mixed results, with Selwyn, Hurunui, and Timaru all recording lower annual growth rates from last month, while Ashburton, Waimakariri, and Banks Peninsula had improving annual growth |
| Dunedin | $280,024 | £106,473 | Dunedin’s residential property values increased by 8.5% over the past year. |
| Tauranga | $439,084 | £166,952 | Property values in Tauranga increased by 5.4% over the past year. Anecdotal evidence suggests continuing difficulty for the real estate industry in terms of closing deals with a moderate level of inquiry, but few reasonable offers. The upper levels of the suburban apartment market have failed to attract buyer interest for some time, and there are many examples of unsold and unoccupied properties in this sector. |
* Assumed exchange rate is £1 = NZ$2.63
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