Property

Drama absent from market

There’s been no dramatic changes to property values of late and the traditional holiday season slowdown is likely to be one of the reasons.

Wednesday, January 16th 2019

The latest QV House Price Index shows that values nationwide values were up by 1.2% in the three months to December and by 3.2% over the past year. This left the nationwide average value at $682,938.

But value growth in the major metropolitan centres was a mixed bag with Wellington alone continuing to see strong growth.

The Wellington region saw values rise by 3.2% over the past quarter and by 7.8% in the year to December, leaving the average value at $688,074.

In contrast, value growth across the Auckland Region decreased by 0.4% year-on-year although values were up slightly by 0.1% over the past quarter. The region’s average value is now $1,048,145.

Christchurch values inched up slightly over both the quarter and the year, leaving the city’s average value at $496,562.   

Meanwhile, Hamilton values were down by 5% year-on-year (to $570,886), Tauranga values were up by 3.9% year-on-year (to $720,645) and Dunedin values were up by 11.2% year-on-year (to $434,903).

QV general manager David Nagel says the busy Christmas period can mean people put off buying or selling properties until the quieter New Year period.

“As a result, we often don’t see any dramatic changes in market activity or value growth – which appears to have been the case early this year.”

A point of interest is the continued growth on many smaller regional towns, he says.

“This was particularly in the central and upper North Island. Kawerau, Carterton, South Waikato and Ruapehu in particular continue to see strong quarterly growth figures on top of solid annual growth.” 

Kawerau, Carterton and South Waikato saw quarterly value growth of 22.7%, 9.9% and 9.1% respectively.

In terms of annual value growth, Kawerau leads the way - up 30.1%, followed by Wairoa (27.4%) and Ruapehu (20.9%).

However, going forward, Nagel expects the loosening of the LVR restrictions to enable some new first home buyers and investors to enter the market in the coming months.

“I don’t anticipate this impact to be overly significant, but it may help drive a busy property market in the early stages of 2019.”

For CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall, the December data closes out the 2018 property market in a relatively similar way to last year – with continued weakness in the largest cities and inconsistent growth elsewhere.

He says the market leading into the summer months stayed consistent in December, albeit with the usual reduction in overall activity as well.

“Responsible bank lending standards remain and have been a defining factor of the property market in 2018.”

However, solid market foundations also continue and these shape Goodall’s expectation that the 2019 market will perform similarly to last year.

Many eyes will be on the Government, the Reserve Bank and the banks themselves as they hold so many of the influencer cards, he adds.

Comments

No comments yet

Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
Kiwibank 8.50

More Stories

Support for regulation

Monday, March 18th 2024

Support for regulation

REINZ has emphasised the need for property management regulation to Parliament’s Social Services and Community Committee.

A better investment market

Thursday, March 14th 2024

A better investment market

“Reinstatement of interest deductibility starting from the new tax year on 1 April brings property investors back in line with every other business in the country, where interest costs are a legitimate deductible expense," Tim Horsbrugh, New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) executive committee member says.

[OPINION] Recessionary times

Thursday, March 14th 2024

[OPINION] Recessionary times

It is not the best out there for many businesses and property sector people. Sales are down across the board, our clients’ confidence is falling, and there is a lot of uncertainty.

Interest rate expectations: It’s not over yet

Thursday, March 07th 2024

Interest rate expectations: It’s not over yet

Most Kiwis think interest rate increases have peaked.