Quarter acre dream out of reach for most Aucklanders

Quarter acre dream out of reach for most Aucklanders

Aucklanders looking to get on the property ladder are now faced with paying well over half a million dollars for the cheapest property type on the market: an apartment or a home unit.

Average asking prices are now well over $500,000 and compact living options are the most affordable, with a huge increase in demand for these housing options in the last month.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries says the latest Property Price Index showed that while the average asking price in Auckland has risen by 20 per cent in the last year, small houses (1-2 bedrooms) had increased 24 per cent and apartments were up a “staggering” 49 per cent in a year.

“It’s a massive amount of money for an apartment but that’s the grim reality of the demand from buyers in the Auckland market now. The quarter acre dream is well out of reach for the vast majority of first-time home buyers in the city,” Mr Jeffries said.

“The average asking price for apartments in Auckland is now $566,350, up more than $185,000 in the past 12 months. That Auckland increase alone is more than the average asking price of a two-bedroom house in Manawatu, Wanganui, Southland or the West Coast.”

He said the average asking price for an Auckland apartment ($566,350) was now higher than for a medium-sized house anywhere else in the country ($422,200).

Across all property types, the average asking price in Auckland increased by 1.9 per cent in August, reversing the 2.2 per cent fall seen in July. The average asking price in Auckland is $770,900, just short of the peak of $773,350 reported in June 2015.

“The average asking price for a property in Auckland has increased by $10,000 a month over the last year,” Mr Jeffries said. “And in the last five years it’s risen by 64 per cent, all the way up from $473,850 back in August 2010.”

ENDS

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