The New Zealand property market is showing signs of improvement following recessionary stresses and a destructive earthquake in the South Island’s largest city, Christchurch. Property values have risen to levels not far below their pre-recession peak in 2007 and only 0.4% below last year’s values. Christchurch and Auckland are the focus of this new improvement as well as areas that are seeing increased demand from people leaving Christchurch, while most other places have remained flat or have slipped slightly in value. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
Residential property prices across New Zealand were stable in July with signs of strengthening values in central Auckland and Christchurch, the latest data shows.
But values were falling in Wellington and flat in Hamilton and Dunedin, the government owned property valuation service Quotable Value’s July report also shows.
‘Nationwide property values have steadied over the past month and are now only 0.4% below the same time last year, and remain 5.2% below the market peak of 2007. Over the past three months values have increased in many parts of the country, with particular strength in the Canterbury region and parts of Auckland,’ said QV research director Jonno Ingerson.
Across the wider Auckland area values have increased 2.4% since January and as a result are now 1.9% cent above last year and only 0.6% below the previous market peak of late 2007. This growth in values over the past few months has not been evenly spread across the Supercity with the old Auckland City growing the most, modest increases in Rodney, North Shore and Waitakere, while Manukau, Papakura and Franklin have stayed more or less stable.
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Values in Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin have all been relatively stable for the past six months, although declines in the six months prior to that mean that all three areas remain below the same time last year.
Wellington remains the only main centre where values continue to decline in recent months, dropping 1.8% since January, and now sitting 2.7% lower than the same time last year. Possible Public Sector restructuring remains a dampening factor in the property market, according to QV research director Jonno Ingerson.
He also said that the market in earthquake hit Christchurch is coming back. ‘Values in Christchurch have been volatile since the first earthquake in September, first increasing for a few months, then dropping prior the February quake, and since then have been increasing,’ he explained.
‘Over the past three months values across Christchurch have grown 1.1% and are now 0.5% above the same time last year. The increase in recent months is due to increased demand for properties in undamaged areas particularly in the West and North of the City,’ he added.
Ingerson said values across the rest of the Canterbury Region have also increased in recent months due in part to demand from displaced Christchurch residents. Values in Ashburton have grown the most at 4% over the last three months. Waimakariri District immediately North of Christchurch has increased 2.9% and Selwyn District immediately to the West has increased 2.1%.
The provincial centres have seen some variability in values in recent months with some dropping, others rising and others staying flat. However values in most provincial towns remain below the same time last year.
Wanganui is the furthest below last year at -6.8%, with Gisborne next at -4.6% then Invercargill at -4%, Whangarei -2.7%, Rotorua -2.9%, Hastings -1%, Napier -1.5%, and Palmerston North -1%. Nelson values are at the same level as this time last year while in Queenstown Lakes values are 1.5% above last year.
QV’s figures are issued monthly and measure movements in values compared on a like for like basis in the three months to July. They look at prices for certain properties in certain suburbs and compare them with similar sales a year earlier.
This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.
