Residential property values steady

NZPA

Monday 8th August 2011

Residential property values steadied nationally in July, according to the QV residential property index.

Strength in the Auckland market is a key factor, with values across the wider Auckland area only 0.6 percent below the previous market peak of late 2007, an improvement on the 1 percent lag in June.

For the country as a whole, property values in July were down only 0.4 percent from a year earlier, while the decline from the peak was 5.2 percent in both July and June.

QV.co.nz research director Jonno Ingerson said values had increased in many places during the past three months, with particular strength in the Canterbury region and parts of Auckland.

Across the wider Auckland area, values were up 2.4 percent since January, to now be 1.9 percent up from a year earlier.

The former Auckland City was growing the most, with modest increases in Rodney, North Shore and Waitakere, while Manukau, Papakura and Franklin had stayed more or less stable, Ingerson said.

Values in Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin had been relatively stable for the past six months, although declines in the six months before that meant all three areas remained below the level of the same time last year.

Wellington was the only main centre where values continued to decline in recent months, dropping 1.8 percent since January, to now be 2.7 percent lower than the same time last year. Possible public sector restructuring remained a dampening factor in the property market.

Values in Christchurch had been volatile since earthquakes first started hitting the city in September, growing 1.1 percent in the past three months to now be 0.5 percent above the same time last year, Ingerson said.

The rise in recent months was due to increased demand for properties in undamaged areas particularly in the west and north of the city.

Values across the rest of Canterbury had also increased in recent months due in part to demand from displaced Christchurch residents.

Values in Ashburton had grown the most at 4 percent over the past three months, with Waimakariri district immediately north of Christchurch up 2.9 percent, and Selwyn district immediately to the west up 2.1 percent.

A less reliable measure of value change, the average sales price over the past three months was $414,261, up slightly from the $412,746 reported for the three months to June.

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