New Zealand Property Market Easing
Quotable Value has released January’s figures for New Zealand’s housing market. The average sale price of a house in New Zealand has increased to $390,636 (£158,152) from December’s $388,253 (£157,187). Property values have increased 8.9% over the calander year. New Zealand’s average house prices are not directly comparable with the UK’s because, unlike the UK, the average home in New Zealand is a detached bungalow.
QV spokesperson Blue Hancock said:
“Even though year on year growth is still positive, it has slowed rapidly. This reflects the easing market of the last few months compared to the buoyancy of last spring and summer. If the easing continues we would expect to see growth flatten to the point where there is no annual gain in value. Preliminary analysis suggests that over the past three months there are many areas across new Zealand where the growth in property values is static.”
House Prices in New Zealand
Three Months Ending January 2008
| Location | Average House Price (NZ$) | Average House Price (£) | Comments |
| Auckland Region | $507,728 | £205,557 | Property values in the Auckland region grew by 9.6% over the past year down from 10.8% reported last month. Valuers reported that the sales taking place were those with realistic asking prices. Sales by auction reduced and tended to be for more premium properties. The number of properties actually on the market seems to be growing after a period of low levels of listings and low numbers of sales. Overall it’s been a quiet market during the holiday period with buyers remaining cautious. |
| Hamilton | $363,261 | £147,069 | Hamilton’s property values increased by 8.3% over the past year down from 11.8% reported last month. All four quarters of the city have seen significant declines in property value growth. The Central City/North West quarter has been significantly impacted. Growth has fallen by 4.1% from 10.5% in December 2007 to 6.4% in January 2008. The total number of sales is significantly down from this time last year. |
| Wellington Region | $445,859 | £180,509 | Property values in the Wellington region increased by 11% over the past year. Property value growth in the Wellington area eased back steadily, but remains at historically high levels. Most areas are now heading back to pre-2006 levels when a 10.0% year on year increase was rare. The region is now at 11.0% and trending down. This is expected to continue for a few more months yet as the number of sales is noticeably lower and selling times are increasing, signalling a shift from a sellers market to a buyers market. |
| Christchurch | $367,681 | £148,858 | The Property values in Christchurch increased by 6.9% over the past year, down from 8.2% reported last month. Areas topping the annual growth rate charts were Banks Peninsula on 12.8% and Hurunui on 12.4% (both on a low turnover of sales), those at the lower end were the Christchurch Eastern and Hill suburbs with 6.9% and 7.3% respectively. |
| Dunedin | $279,358 | £113,100 | Dunedin’s residential property values increased by 6.1% over the past year. Growth was reasonably consistent across the city with value growth continuing to level off and following a trend that started in August last year. |
| Tauranga | $444,022 | £179,765 | Property values in Tauranga increased by 3.4% over the past year. The property market in the Tauranga region continued to be quiet. The rate of increase in property values in both Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty district have been steadily tracking downwards since September 2007. |
* Assumed exchange rate is £1 = NZ$2.47
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