a decline in average values, and the biggest increase was registered from Christchurch, where property values rose by 10 per cent over the three months, bringing the city’s average value to $729,963. According to Olivia Brownie, the QV consultant for Christchurch, the strong market activity which occurred since the beginning of the spring had continued throughout this period. “We are still seeing the same factors driving value increases − namely low supply, high demand, and relatively low interest rates,” she said.
Annually, house prices in the city increased by 36.1 per cent.
According to QV, the next biggest quarterly value increases were reported in Queenstown Lakes District and the city of Tauranga, where a 9.6 and 6.6 per cent increase pushed average prices to $1.5 million and $1.1 million respectively. Meanwhile, in Auckland, the average property value reached 1.4 million, following a 5.6 per cent increase over the three-month period.
A 3.8 per cent increase climb in the capital city of Wellington took the region’s average value to $1.06 million, QV’s figures showed. The strongest annual value increase was reported from the Manawatū-Whanganui region, at 34.7 per cent, followed by the Canterbury region with 34.1 per cent increase.
According to Quotable general manager David Nagel, banks are responding to the Reserve Bank’s concern over the stability of the property market, by tightening credit availability for borrowers. “But a continued lack of supply has resulted in a resurgence in prices across the locations we monitor. A reported flood of new listings will provide some welcome relief for house hunters,” he noted.
