New Zealand Median Property Price Passes $600,000

The New Zealand median property price has passed the $600,000 mark for the first time in history.

The property price boom that has led to extra tax costs imposed on overseas property investors continues unabated.

New Zealand median property prices across the country increased by 8.2 per cent year-on-year in October to a new record high of $607,500, the Real Estate Institute confirmed.

It’s the first time the median property price for the country has passed the $600,000 mark.

Auckland’s median price edged up 0.8 per cent to $868,000, the highest in 19 months. Central Auckland prices rose 4.6 per cent and Franklin 8.8 per cent.

Excluding Auckland, prices were up 8.6 per cent to a record $520,000.

The house price index, which measures the changing value of property in the market, was up 3.9 per cent from 2018.

Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū/Whanganui and Otago all had record New Zealand median property prices. In Manawatū/Whanganui, the median price was up almost 21 per cent compared to October 2018.

Canterbury returned to a record first seen in October 2018.

Real Estate Institute chief executive Bindi Norwell commented on the New Zealand median property price increase, saying: ‘October was a strong month price-wise, with record median prices recorded in six regions and a record equal in Canterbury.’

She continued: ‘This is the highest number of regional record prices we’ve seen for the country in 23 months. The Gisborne region also had a very strong month with a 37.1 per cent increase in median price year-on-year to $425,000 – the strongest price rise across the country.’

Kiwibank senior economist Jeremy Couchman said that property market activity was likely to continue to gather pace.

He said: ‘Interest rates remain near historical lows, despite the Reserve Bank keeping the cash rate on hold yesterday. We continue to face supply and demand imbalances. And population growth remains well above average as StatsNZ’s latest net migration figures lifted further above 50,000 on an annual basis. We also expect the Reserve Bank to loosen loan-to-value restrictions later this month.’