New Zealand house prices rocket to new record

The New Zealand property market continues to scale new heights with eight of the country’s fifteen regions hitting record average asking prices in November, according to the latest Trade Me Property Price Index.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the national average asking price had reached a 2019 high of $678,950, up 2.4 per cent on November last year and a whopping 62 per cent from five years ago.

“The surge in buyer demand we saw in October flowed through to a jump in property listings in November, which were up 3.1 per cent month-on-month as sellers looked to get in on the action with the weather warming up.”

Mr Jeffries said the main drivers of the national price growth are outside Auckland with the Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu/Whanganui, Nelson/Tasman, Northland, Otago, Southland, Waikato and Wellington once again performing strongly.

“We expect house-hunting to ease off as we head into the Christmas period, though typically we see a big spike in views come January and if the current price trend persists, we could be headed for a record summer.”

Wellington charges on

Mr Jeffries said Wellington continued its record-breaking run and the average asking price in the capital was up by nearly 1 per cent on October and 9.7 per cent year-on-year.

“Property prices in the Wellington region took off in mid-2016, much later than the Auckland market, and have shown no signs of slowing since. The average asking price in the Wellington region has now reached $676,450, putting it almost on par with the national average. Every district in the region recorded solid growth with South Wairarapa registering another incredible year-on-year leap, this time of 34 per cent.”

Mr Jeffries said a lack of supply continued to be a major factor affecting Wellington house prices.

“The number of properties listed for sale in the Wellington district was 16 per cent lower than November last year, while views were up by 13 per cent. This mismatch in supply and demand suggests the Wellington price surge isn’t ready to end just yet.”

Waikato surges

Mr Jeffries said like Wellington, the Waikato region is in the middle of a property boom with average prices up 74 per cent on five years ago.

“The average asking price in Waikato reached $623,650 in November, compared to $358,850 in 2014. Much of this growth has been driven by people shifting south from Auckland to the benefit of homeowners in Hamilton who have seen a big spike in the value of their homes.”

Mr Jeffries said Hamilton properties were up 9.7 per cent to an average of $649,100, likely reflecting limited supply as listings dropped off by 15 per cent year-on-year in November.

Auckland fairly settled

The average asking price in the Auckland region rose 1.5 per cent against October, sitting at $930,300 in November, though down 1.4 per cent year-on-year.

“Auckland has seen the average asking price slowly increase over the last few months, and significantly fewer properties on the market compared to a year ago, which suggests the market will end 2019 feeling fairly settled.

“There is some divergence between property types in Auckland. Apartment asking prices have been on the rise again, while townhouses have taken a decent drop and standalone homes have dipped a touch. However we wouldn’t be surprised to see that change in the new year as the sun-soaked weekend auction season kicks into gear.”

All house sizes hit record highs in Wellington

Mr Jeffries said Wellington hit new highs across all three house sizes in November.

“Both small (1-2 bedrooms) and large (5+ bedroom) homes saw some major year-on-year growth in prices - the latter storming past the million dollar mark. Christchurch also saw a solid rise in the large homes market and it was the only house size tracking up for Auckland.”

Excluding Auckland, 3-4 bedroom houses reached the new high of $583,200 and 1-2 bedroom properties also hit a record $399,950.

Apartments hit new highs in Auckland and Wellington

“Apartment asking prices in Wellington and Auckland reached new highs in November, coming in at $587,900 and $709,450 respectively. In Christchurch new builds continue to hit the market to drive the significant increase in year-on-year asking prices.”

ENDS

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