House prices in New Zealand rose by 3.1 per cent during the last quarter and are now 8.1 per cent higher than they were a year ago, new figures show.
Auckland Housing New Zealand. Source – www.newstalkzb.co.nz
According to the government valuer Quotable Value (QV), the national average house price in July was at an all-time high NZ$445,247 – 7.5 per cent higher than it was at the previous market peak in late 2007.
According to the QV report, price growth in the cities of Auckland and Christchurch are still responsible for driving much of the increase. House values in Auckland are 12.8 per cent higher than they were at the same time last year, while in Christchurch prices have risen by 10.8 per cent in the last 12 months, and are only likely to get higher as the rebuild continues to gather pace.
“Most of the rest of the main centres are also increasing but at a much slower rate,” explained QV operations manager Kerry Steward. “Many of the provincial towns had previously started to see some small gains; however values have dropped over the last month.”
The highest property prices in NZ are currently found in the Auckland region, where the average price of a house is NZ$644,973, followed by the Queensland-Lakes area (NZ$637,756).
The cheapest properties are to be found in Wanganui, where the average house costs just NZ$189,209, followed by Invercargill (NZ$204,067).