Auckland property values grow 1%, lagging national average rate of 6.5%: QV

Wednesday 7th March 2018

Growth in Auckland property values continued to lag behind New Zealand as a whole in February, with the slowest pace in six months nudging the city's average price up to $1.05 million, says state-owned valuer Quotable Value.

Residential property values across the Auckland region rose 1 percent year-on-year in February and gained 0.8 percent in the three months ended Feb. 28, QV said. The QV house price index shows that nationwide, property values rose 6.5 percent from the same month last year and rose 1.2 percent over the past three months.

Within the Auckland region, Manukau recorded no change in values year-on-year, while North Shore was the standout, with values rising 2.9 percent in the year to February.

"The market remains sluggish with values holding for the most part, with a lack of good quality listings on the market and lower than normal sales volumes for this time of year," said QV Auckland senior consultant James Steele. "There were signs that many first home buyers were finding it difficult to get the finance to purchase, with prices remaining high."

When adjusted for inflation, Auckland values fell 0.6 percent over the year while the adjusted nationwide annual increase slowed to 4.9 percent, QV said.

"Values continue to rise faster in Wellington, Dunedin and many regional centres than in Auckland," said QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush.

Christchurch was the only main centre to record a decline, with values in the city falling 0.8 percent year on year, although they were up 0.1 percent in the past three months.

Hamilton values recorded a 3.1 percent increase in the year and a 0.8 percent gain in the past three months, while for Tauranga the increases were 4.9 percent for the year and 2.8 percent for the three-month period.

For Hawkes Bay as a whole, values surged 16.5 percent year on year and managed a 3.1 percent gain in the past three months.

"The Hawkes Bay market remains buoyant with strong value growth continuing," said QV Napier senior consultant Philippa Pearse.

Wellington values rose 8.6 percent in the year and 3.1 percent in the past quarter. But the QV figures also showed strong gains for areas within reach of Wellington, including a 23 percent jump in values in South Wairarapa in the year, an 18 percent gain for the town of Masterton and a 17 percent gain for the Horowhenua district.

Among the other South Island centres, Dunedin residential values rose 9.3 percent in the year and 1.7 percent over the past three months. Nelson values climbed 10.5 percent year on year and gained 2.7 percent in the last three months. The MacKenzie district was the fastest growing area in the south, with growth year on year of about 24 percent, and a gain of 8.1 percent in the past three months.

(BusinessDesk)

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