Buyers could save more than $1 million by choosing an apartment as their entry point into top Auckland suburbs says REINZ

For buyers looking to gain an entry point into some of Auckland’s top suburbs such as Parnell, Epsom and Takapuna they could save more than $1 million dollars by choosing to purchase an apartment rather than a residential property according to research from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), source of the most complete and accurate real estate data in New Zealand.

The median price for apartments in Parnell was $772,500 compared to a residential median price of $2,067,500 – a difference of $1,295,000. For Epsom the apartment median price was $865,000 compared to a residential median price of $2,100,000 – a difference of $1,235,000 and for Takapuna the median price of an apartment is $817,500 compared to a residential median price of $1,870,000 – a difference of $1,052,500.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “For those wanting to gain an entry point into some of Auckland’s top suburbs, considering an apartment rather than a residential property is a much more affordable way of getting into some of these areas. Apartments have come a long way in the last 20 years to having top-end fixtures and fittings, eco-friendly/energy saving features and extensive communal areas.

“A saving of more than $1 million to live in a fantastic location or a good school zone is not something to be ignored,” continues Norwell.

Other top Auckland suburbs included:

Mount Eden – a saving of $970,500
Grey Lynn – a saving of $867,000
Freemans Bay – a saving of $750,000
Remuera – a saving of $656,400.

Significant savings for first time buyers can also be found in some of Auckland’s entry-level suburbs such as:

East Tamaki – a saving of $527,000
Mt Wellington – a saving of $442,500
New Lynn – a saving of $280,000
Manukau – a saving of $142,500.

“For first time buyers apartments are an excellent way to get a foot on the already expensive Auckland property market. Apartments are usually close to public transport and other amenities such as cafes or restaurants, gyms and other retail outlets. But most importantly, they’re in a price bracket that people can more realistically actually afford.

“An apartment may not be the property that a young couple end up living in their whole life, but it allows them the chance to build up equity in their apartment and then further down the track if they plan a family it means that they can then look to make the next step to a larger home with more room,” continues Norwell.

The one anomaly that REINZ’s research uncovered in the Auckland market was Orewa – the median price for apartments in the area is actually $11,500 more than a residential property.

What about the rest of the country or is this just an Auckland ‘thing’?

While the majority of apartment sales are in the Auckland market there were also significant savings that could be made in other areas across the country including:

Wellington’s Mount Victoria and Thorndon with savings of $719,750 and $467,328 respectively
Papamoa Beach and Mt Maunganui with savings of $258,000 and $157,000 respectively
Whitianga apartments represented a saving of $152,500 when compared to a residential property, and
Queenstown apartments represented a saving of $894,000 when compared to a residential property – the greatest saving outside of the Auckland region.

“A look at the regions also presented two further anomalies where it’s cheaper to buy a residential property rather than an apartment – in Tauranga where it actually costs $216,250 more to buy an apartment and in Christchurch Central we’ve seen the same thing, where it’s $35,000 cheaper to buy a residential property than it is to buy an apartment,” concludes Norwell.

ENDS

© Scoop Media