Bay of Plenty hits new high

The Trade Me Property data shows that, in December 2015, average asking prices nationwide declined by 0.4% as compared to November.

In Auckland, the average asking price rose by just 0.2% in December – providing more evidence of the SuperCity’s slowdown.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said New Zealand’s property market ended 2015 with a whimper rather than the roar which characterised the rest of the year.

The cooldown of the Auckland market was not surprising as 2015 was one of the most heated years on record for its market, he said.

“For a year that witnessed unprecedented rises in expected selling prices, the market ended the year on a subdued note.”

Auckland’s average asking price ended the year at $805,300.

But, over the past year, it has gone up by 16.5%, and, over the past years, it has increased by 60%.

Once Auckland was excluded from the mix, the national average asking price fell by 0.4% in December, which left it at $427,250 – as compared to $429,100 in November.

But Jeffries said the long term trend has been positive.

Over the last year the national average asking price has gone up by 3.7%, while over the last five years they have increased by 22.8%.

Further, in December, nearly every region in New Zealand recorded an increase in the average asking price.

With a decline of 14.6%, Taranaki was the only region to see a decrease in the average asking price.

Jeffries said the regions with the fastest growth rates were those surrounding Auckland – so Northland was up 11%, Bay of Plenty was up 11.2% and Hawkes Bay was up 7.6%.

“Further south were more modest increases, ranging from 1.2% in Canterbury to 7.5% over on the West Coast.”

However, the Bay of Plenty market was the country’s stand-out performer in December.

Jeffries said that it bet out both Wellington and Canterbury to become the first region outside Auckland to break through the $500,000 barrier.

“Rising at an annual rate of 11.2%, the Bay of Plenty has seen average asking prices in the region rise by over $50,000 in the past year to hit a new record of $503,550.”

Meanwhile, in 2015, the average asking prices for both large houses and units have surged around the country, but particularly in Auckland.